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INDIAN MASSACRE 

and 

Captivity of Hall Girls 



COMPLETE HISTORY 

of the 

MASSACRE OF SIXTEEN WHITES 

on 

INDIAN CREEK, NEAR OTTAWA, ILL. 
and 

Sylvia Hall and Rachel Hall 

As Captives in Illinois and Wisconsin 
during 

THE BLACK HAWK WAR, 1832 



BY 

CHARLES M. SCANLAN 

Author of 

"Scanlan's Rules of Order," "The Law of Church and Grave,' 
"Law of Hotels" Etc. 



REIC PUBLISHING COMPANY 

421 Matthews Building 
Milwaukee, Wis. 



ES3 



Copyright, 1915, 

BY 

CHARLES M. SCANLAN 



AUG 28 1915 

©CI.A410256 



PREFACE. 



No one is satisfied with an incomplete story. 
The very meagre and inconsistent accounts of 
the adventures of Sylvia and Rachel Hall 
(familiarly known as the ' ' Hall girls") hereto- 
fore published, merely excited one 's curiosity to 
know the whole story. The ladies' statements 
that have been published, gave only an outline 
of the facts as far as they knew them person- 
ally. To obtain all the facts, required much in- 
vestigation of books and a great deal of corre- 
spondence with historical societies, editors of 
newspapers and the "War and the Interior De- 
partment of the United States. Also, the writer 
has had personal interviews with relatives of 
the Misses Hall, and has traveled over the 
ground and examined all the evidence that now 
appears from the location of the little cottage 
on Indian Creek to Galena where the girls took 
a boat for St. Louis. 

Mrs. A. Miranda Dunavan, a daughter of 
Mrs. Rachel Hall Munson (the younger cap- 
tive), gave me the family history of her mother; 
and Miss Sylvia E. Horn of Lincoln, Nebraska, 
and Mr. C. L. Horn of- Mackinaw, Illinois, 

[3] 



PREFACE. 



grand-children of Mrs. Sylvia Hall Horn (the 
elder captive), contributed the history of the 
Horn family. Thus every fact in the following 
pages is stated upon the best evidence. 

To gather all the traditions that still linger 
along the course over which the Indians trav- 
eled with their captives, the writer enlisted the 
services of his nieces, Miss Gertrude Scanlan 
of Fennimore, Wisconsin, and Miss Marian 
Scanlan of Prairie du Chien, whose grand- 
fathers were pioneers in the lead regions. How- 
ever, no fact has been stated on tradition with- 
out the clues being verified by land records or 
government documents. 

Of course every lady wants to know how the 
girls looked. Unfortunately, there is no picture 
of either of them prior to middle life. Mrs. 
Dunavan lent to me a very rare daguerreotype 
picture of her mother, Mrs. Munson, taken at 
the age of about forty-two years, and a photo- 
graph of her aunt, Mrs. Sylvia Hall Horn, taken 
when she was over sixty years of age. Also, 
I borrowed from Mrs. Dunavan a tintype pic- 
ture of herself when she was sixteen, which is 
said to be a very good likeness of her aunt 
Sylvia at the time that she was taken captive. 
These pictures are reproduced herein. The 



PREFACE. 



5 



tradition of the neighborhood is that the girls 
were unusually handsome in both figure and 
face and of captivating kind dispositions. They 
were born in Kentucky and carried with them 
to Illinois the southern culture which has won 
for the ladies of the South considerable fame in 
story and song. 

"She was bred in old Kentucky, 
Where the meadow grass grows blue, 
There's the sunshine of the country, 
In her face and manner too." — Braisted, 



Milwaukee, Wis. 
July 15, 1915. 

CHARLES M. SCANLAN. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Preface, - - - - - - 3 

I. Description of the Country, ... 9 

II. Indian Davis Troubles, 13 

III. The Davis Settlement, - - - - 23 

IV. The Massacre, - - - - - - 31 

V. The Captivity, - 38 

VI. To the Rescue, - - - - - - 48 

VII. Military Movements, 51 

VIII. Reward Offered, 54 

IX. The Captive Girls, 59 

X. Ransomed, - 66 

XI. Royally Welcomed, 81 

XII. Homeward Bound, 90 

XIII. Romance and History, - - - - 95 

XIV. Shabona, 106 

XV. Comee and Toquamee, Ill 



[7] 



CHAPTER I. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 

In its natural condition, perhaps no more at- 
tractive country ever laid before the eyes of 
man than that in which occurred the incidents 
of the following narrative. On the south it is 
bordered by the Illinois river, with its historical 
events beginning with the old Kaskaskia Mis- 
sion established by Father Marquette in 1673 
amidst the most beautiful scenery in tne whole 
state of Illinois, which is now included in 
Starved Rock State Park. 

What memories cluster around old Kaskas- 
kia! As the first capital of Illinois, it was vis- 
ited by Gen. La Payette and Presidents Jack- 
son, Lincoln, Taylor and Harrison ; by Jefferson 
Davis, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson, and by 
nearly every other man who was prominent in 
United States history prior to 1837, when 
Springfield became the state capital. 

On the east for more than one hundred miles 
the Fox river, with its source in a beautiful 
lake near Waukesha, Wisconsin, flows south 
into the Illinois at Ottawa. Westward the great 
prairie stretches off to and beyond the Rock 
river which has eroded a narrow valley through 

[9] 



10 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 

that otherwise flat plain. Besides Rock river 
the only important streams that lay in the 
course of travel of the Hall girls as prisoners, 
were the Sycamore (South Kishwaukee) and 
the Kishwaukee in Illinois, and Turtle Creek, 
the Bark River and the Oconomowoc in Wis- 
consin. 

We are told by geologists that during the 
quaternary age of the world, a great ice-berg, 
moving down from the north, crushed all the 
trees and vegetation in its path, leveled most 
of the hills and filled most of the valleys as far 
south as the Ohio River. When that body of ice 
melted it formed lakes in the depressions which 
were not filled with till. Drumlins, eskers and 
kames, here and there, remain to indicate either 
the resistance of the prior formation or that 
quantities of earth filled the uneven under sur- 
face of the ice at the time of its dissolution. 

By the action of the atmosphere, rains and 
dew, as centuries rolled on, vegetation sprang 
up all over that great plain, and springs to sup- 
ply the greatest necessity of living things, broke 
forth and flowed in streams that united into 
rivers as they rolled on to the sea. Along the 
streams were forests of trees — including many 
species of the oak, ash, sycamore, elm, sugar 



12 



DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 



maple, locust, hickory, walnut, butternut, lin- 
den, cherry, buckeye, blackberry and many 
other familiar varieties. Also, here and there 
stood groves that escaped the terrible prairie 
fires that almost every year swept over that 
vast plain. 

Game of many kinds, from the monstrous buf- 
falo and timid deer down to the rabbit, the tur- 
key, the prairie chicken, and the quail, was 
abundant. 

Last, and by no means least, was the beautiful 
flora of that country which was known as 
"The Paradise of the West/' 1 A traveler who 
saw it in its natural condition, describes it as 
follows: "Above all countries, this is the land 
of flowers. In the season, every prairie is an 
immense flower garden. In the early stages of 
spring flowers, the prevalent tint is peach blu- 
ish ; the next is a deeper red ; then succeeds the 
yellow ; and to the latest period of autumn the 
prairies exhibit a brilliant golden, scarlet and 
blue carpet, mingled with the green and brown 
ripened grass." 2 

"Sweet waves the sea of summer flowers 
Around our wayside cot so coy, 
Where Eileen sings away the hours 
That light my task in Illinois." — McGee. 

x 6 Wis. Hist. Col., 421; 10 Wis. Hist. Col., 246-7. 
2 "Western Portraiture," Colton, 221. 



CHAPTER II. 

INDIAN TROUBLES. 

When the first white man settled in Illinois, 
the Mascoutin Indians occupied the lands be- 
tween the Illinois River and the waterway 
formed by the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers from 
Green Bay to Prairie du Chien. Later the Sacs, 
the Foxes, and the Pottawatamies, occupied the 
territory and had many villages. There were 
no national boundary lines. A prominent route 
of travel was the Kishwaukee Trail from Wat- 
seca in Eastern Illinois up the Kankakee to 
where it flows into the Illinois, and thence in 
a northwesterly direction to the mouth of the 
Kishwaukee on Rock River, about six miles be- 
low Rockford. Dixon was the great center of 
trails. The principal one was from Kaskaskia 
by way of Dixon to Galena, Illinois. Numerous 
other trails connected prominent points and 
various Indian villages. 

In 1804 a treaty was made with the Sacs and 
Foxes at St. Louis, of which the principal pro- 
vision were as follows : 

" Article 1. The United States receive the 
united Sac and Fox tribes into their friendship 
and protection and the said tribes agree to con- 

[13] 



14 



INDIAN" TROUBLES. 



sider themselves under the protection of the 
United States, and no other power whatsoever. 

" Article 2. The General boundary line be- 
tween the land of the United States and the said 
Indian tribes shall be as follows, to-wit: Be- 
ginning at a point on the Missouri River oppo- 
site to the mouth of the Gasconde River ; thence, 
in a direct course so as to strike the River Jef- 
freon to the Mississippi; thence, up the Missis- 
sippi to the mouth of the Ouiseonsing [Wiscon- 
sin] River, and up the same to a point which 
shall be 36 miles in a direct line from the mouth 
of the said river, thence, by a direct line to the 
point where the Pox River (a branch of the 
Illinois) leaves the small lake called Sakaegan ; 
thence, down the Pox River to the Illinois 
River, and down the same to the Mississippi. 
And the said tribes, for and in consideration of 
the friendship and protection of the United 
States, which is now extended to them, of the 
goods (to the value of two thousand two hun- 
dred and thirty-four dollars and fifty cents) 
which are now delivered, and of the annuity 
hereinafter stipulated to be paid, do hereby 
cede and relinquish forever, to the United 
States, all the lands included within the above 
described boundary. 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



15 



" Article 3. In consideration of the cession 
and relinquishment of land made in the preced- 
ing article, the United States will deliver to the 
said tribes, at the town of St. Louis, or some 
other convenient place on the Mississippi, yearly 
and every year, goods suited to the circum- 
stances of the Indians of the value of one thou- 
sand dollars (six hundred of which are intended 
for the Sacs and four hundred for the Foxes), 
reckoning that value at the first cost of the 
goods in the City or place in the United States, 
where they shall be procured. And if the said 
tribes shall hereafter at an annual delivery of 
the goods aforesaid, desire that a part of their 
annuity should be furnished in domestic ani- 
mals, implements of husbandry, and other uten- 
sils, convenient for them, or in compensation to 
useful artificers, who may reside with or near 
them, and be employed for their benefit, the 
same shall, at the subsequent annual delivery, 
be furnished accordingly. 

"Article 4. The United States will never in- 
terrupt the said tribes in the possession of the 
lands, which they rightfully claim, but will, on 
the contrary, protect them in the quiet enjoy- 
ment of the same against their own citizens and 
against all other white persons, who may in- 



16 



INDIAN 1 TROUBLES. 



trude upon them. And the said tribes do here- 
by engage that they will never sell their lands, 
or any part thereof, to any sovereign power but 
the United States, nor to the citizens or subjects 
of any other sovereign power, nor to the cit- 
izens of the United States. 

m* 4g» Jfr m» . jfa «Sfr jfr ^fe 4fr 

•ft* vs* VT ">i* w *ir '7T w Tr 

"Article 7, As long as the lands which are 
now ceded to the United States remain their 
[U. S.] property, the Indians belonging to the 
said tribes shall enjoy the privileges of living 
and hunting upon them." 3 

The Chippewas, the Winnebagos, and the 
Pottawatamies, made claim to the same terri- 
tory. Even the Foxes and Sacs claimed that 
the young chiefs who signed the treaty, were 
made drunk, and while in that condition agreed 
to the treaty. 4 Also, the Indians maintained 
that the United States would not allow them to 
hunt upon the "wild" lands, notwithstanding 
Art. 7 of the treaty and that the title thereto 
was still in the government. Therefore, the In- 
dians refused to ratify the treaty, and the idea 
that they were grievously wronged became a 
fixed notion in the minds of the old chiefs, 

3 2 "Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties", 174. 
4 BIa«ck Hawk's Autobiography, Le Claire, Ch. 3. 
12 "The Republic", Irelan, 68. 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



17 




BLACK HAWK AS A WARRIOR. 



which led to the Red Bird War of 1827, and the 
still greater Black Hawk War in 1832. 5 

5 3 Smith's "History of Wisconsin" (1854), 115 et 
seq.; "Waubun," Kinzie, 381. 



18 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



Black Hawk had fought with the English in 
the War of 1812, and by reason of the defeat of 
the English, including his own, he retained his 
natural desire for revenge against the Amer- 
icans. He was born at Rock Island, and had as 
strong love for his native place as was ever re- 
tained by any white man. When Illinois be- 
came a state in 1818, Black Hawk with all his 
people was ordered to move across the Missis- 
sippi into Iowa, which he reluctantly obeyed. 
However, he was never satisfied with his new 
location, and in 1832 he again crossed the Mis- 
sissippi with four hundred warriors and all 
their squaws and children and squatted on his 
former possessions at Rock Island. He was 
ordered back to Iowa, but refused to go until 
he learned that troops were being sent against 
him. With all his people he retired north along 
Rock River, followed by the Illinois militia, 
and when he reached a point about twenty-five 
miles south of Rockford, he halted and held a 
council of war with chiefs of the Pottawatomies 
and Winnebagoes, where he delivered the fol- 
lowing speech: 

''I was born at the Sac Village, and here I 
spent my childhood, youth and manhood. I 
liked to look on this place with its surroundings 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



of big rivers, shady groves and green prairies. 
Here are the graves of my father and some of 
my children. Here I expected to live and die 
and lay my bones beside those near and dear 
to me; but now in my old age I have been 
driven from my home, and dare not look again 
upon this loved spot." 

The old chief choked with grief and tears 
flowed down his cheeks. Covering his face in 
his blanket, he remained silent for a few mo- 
ments. Then wiping away his tears, he con- 
tinued : 

"Before many moons you, too, will be com- 
pelled to leave your homes. The haunts of your 
youth, your villages, your corn fields, and your 
hunting grounds, will be in the possession of 
the whites, and by them the graves of your 
fathers will be plowed up, while your people 
will be retreating towards the setting sun to 
find new homes beyond the Father of "Waters. 
We have been as brothers; we fought side by 
side in the British war ; we hunted together and 
slept under the same blanket; we have met at 
councils and at religious feasts ; our people are 
alike and our interests are the same." 6 

On the 14th day of May, 1832, the militia 



°Memories of Shaubena, 98. 



20 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



under Major Stillman arrived within eight miles 
of the camp of a Black Hawk who sent three 
Indians under a flag of truce to negotiate a 
treaty with the whites. The wily chief also 
sent five other Indians to a point where they 
could watch the unarmed braves carrying the 
white flag. Stillman 's men refusing to recog- 
nize the white flag set upon the Indians, killed 
one and captured the others, and then set off 
after the other five who held their guns cross- 
wise over their heads as a sign of friendship. 
The whites killed two of the five and chased 
the others into Black Hawk's camp. Then the 
Indians set upon Stillman 's army, cut it to 
pieces, and chased the scattered remnants for 
many miles. The place of that battle is known 
as " Stillman 's Run." 7 The disgrace of the en- 
tire affair has been a dark blot upon the white 
man's bravery and his manner of dealing with 
the Indians. Up to this time the Indians had 
committed no crime nor act of war against the 
whites. 8 

Immediately after the engagement Black 
Hawk called another council of his braves, at 

T "Life of Albert Sidney Johnston," Johnston, 35. 
s 12 Wis. Hist. Col., 230; "History of Indiana/' 
Esarey, 323; "The Black Hawk War," 129-144. 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



21 




BLACK HAWK AS A CIVILIAN. 



which it was determined to fight to the last and 
to send out small bands of Indians to the var- 
ious white settlements to destroy them. Among 
the great warriors present at that council was 



22 



INDIAN TROUBLES. 



the celebrated Chief Shabona (Shab-eh-ney) 9 
who fought beside Tecumseh at his down-fall at 
the battle of the Thames. Shabona pleaded 
with the Indian chiefs to give up the war and 
to return to Iowa, and when they refused to do 
so, be, his son Pypagee, and his nephew Pyps, 
mounted ponies and rode to the various white 
settlements and notified the people of the dan- 
ger of the Indians. The first horse with which 
Shabona started, dropped dead under him; 
but he obtained another horse from a farmer 
and rode day and night until he had warned 
the whites at all the settlements. 

"Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind 
Sees God in the clouds, or hears Him in the wind. ' 

— Pope. 

°7 Wis. Hist. Col., 323, 415; "The Black Hawk War," 
Stevens, 160. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 

The father of our heroines, William Ball, 
who was born in Georgia, migrated to Ken- 
tucky where he married Mary J. Wilburs, and 
in 1825 emigrated to Mackinaw, about fifteen 
miles south of Peoria, Illinois, where he opened 
a farm. Shortly afterwards he moved to the 
lead mines near Galena where he staid three 
years, and then returned to Lamoille, Bureau 
County, Illinois. In the spring of 1832 he sold 
out his mining claim and settled upon a home- 
stead about two miles east of the farm of Wil- 
liam Davis. Prior to that time his oldest 
daughter, Temperance, had been married to 
Peter Cartwright, but the other members of his 
family, consisting of his wife, three daughters — 
Sylvia, aged 19, Rachel, aged 17, and Eliza- 
beth, aged 8 years, and two boys, were liv- 
ing with him. Some time prior to the massacre, 
two Indians named Co-mee and To-qua-mee, 
who had been frequent visitors at the Ball 
home and treated kindly by Mr. Ball's daught- 
ers, endeavored, after the custom of the Indians, 
to purchase Sylvia and Rachel from their 
father. 10 

10 "The Black Hawk War," Stevens, 149. 

[23] 



24 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 




MES. DUN A VAX. AGED 16, LIKENESS OF 
SYLVIA HALL. 



The Halls were noted for their hospitality. 
Judge Edwin Jerome of Detroit relates that he 
was the guest of the family one night in April 
1832. 11 

William Petigrew, also from Kentucky, who 
had just migrated to the Davis Settlement and 
had not yet established a home for himself, with 
his wife and two children, was temporarily 
stopping at the home of Mr. Davis at the time 
of the massacre. 



u l "Michigan Pioneers", Jerome, 49. 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 



25 



In 1830, John H. Henderson emigrated from 
Tennessee to Indian Creek and settled on a 
homestead adjoining the land of Davis on the 
south. Subsequently the Hendersons became 
prominent politicians, both in Illinois and Iowa. 

In the spring of 1830, William Davis, a Ken- 
tuckian, and a blacksmith by trade, settled on 
a land claim on Big Indian Creek, twelve miles 
north of Ottowa, in the northern part of La 
Salle County, Illinois. He was the first white 
settler at that place. 

Agriculture and marriage have always been 
the great necessities to found permanent civil- 
ization. To establish a settlement in the great 
west, at that time, a blacksmith shop and a mill 
were the next two great necessities, and around 
those the early settlers broke up the wild prairie 
and on the upturned sod sowed buckwheat, tur- 
nips and sod-corn, which within three months 
produced their first food from the soil for them- 
selves and their stock. To " break' ' the tough 
prairie sod required a sharp plowshare and col- 
ter, which had to be resharpened frequently. 
Without the blacksmith the prairie could hardly 
be cultivated. The big ox-teams of the neigh- 
bors, with which they had moved into the coun- 
try, pulled the plow. Next, with the crop pro- 



26 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 



duced, the grist mill to grind the grain was a 
great necessity. The Indians and some of the 
early settlers with hammers and stones pulver- 
ized corn and wheat enough to supply their ab- 
solute wants from day to day, but the whites, 
who had been accustomed to corn-meal and 
wheat-flour bread, were not satisfied with the 
mashed product. Therefore, Davis, who sup- 
plied both of those great necessities, was a 
prominent man in the Davis Settlement. 

The mill-site was where the Sauk trail from 
Black Hawk's Village at the mouth of the Rock 
River crossed Big Indian Creek and continued 
thence east to Canada, where the whole tribe 
of Sacs went every year to get their annuities 
from the English Government. 12 Just above the 
ford the creek meandered through a flat-bot- 
tomed gulch that was about two hundred feet 
wide with precipitous banks about fifteen feet 
high. At this point the stream flowed south- 
easterly and was fringed along its course with 
woods that grew dense, and here and there ex- 
panded into groves, but at other places there 
were openings where the prairie fires annually 
destroyed the undergrowth and left standing 

"Blanchard's History of Illinois, 122, and Historical 
Map. 



28 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 



only the monarchs of the forest. The north 
bank of the gulch had an incline of about forty- 
five degrees to the level of the prairie. On that 
bank in a sparsely timbered opening from which 
the prairie stretched off to the cardinal points 
of the compass. William Davis located his home 
and erected his cabin. About that cabin there 
were trees that produced fruit, fuel and lum- 
ber, among whose branches were singing birds 
of great variety, including the Cardinal, the 
Dickcissel, the Carolina Wren, the Thrush and 
the Robin. By May the bank was covered with 
a carpet of thick, waving grass, diversified with 
ever-changing colored flowers, until the cruel 
frost of Fall destroyed them. It was an 
idyllic spot. No doubt Davis hoped that some 
day the Davis Settlement would become Davis 
City, and that his generations would revel in 
mansions that would replace the cottage on the 
bank of that new Jordan, where he. like King 
David, in his old age might kneel among his 
people to pray. 

However, the hopes and aspirations of the 
Davis family were soon to be blasted. Davis 
was a powerful man and his Kentucky blood 
fairly boiled with resentment at any offense, 
particularly one given by an Indian, upon whom 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 



29 



he looked as an inferior. With his gun and 
bowie knife Davis would fight a dozen Indians 
— aye, a score. It seemed as though he could 
play with them in the air as an athlete plays 
with Indian clubs. 

About one hundred and fifty feet south of 
his cottage, Davis erected a blacksmith shop 
and a mill. To obtain water power for his mill 
it became necessary for Davis to put a dam 
across the stream. Six miles farther up Indian 
Creek there was an Indian village, and as the 
fish naturally went up the stream every spring, 
there was good fishing at the village for the 
Indians. The dam prevented the fish from go- 
ing up, and the Indians protested against this 
invasion of their rights. Davis, however, in- 
sisted on his rights to build and maintain the 
dam, and bad feelings were engendered. 

One day in April, 1832, Davis discovered an 
Indian tearing an outlet in the dam, and with 
a hickory stick he beat the Indian unmerci- 
fully. 13 Had he killed the Indian it might have 
ended the affair ; but to whip an Indian with a 
stick as you would whip a dog, was an insult 
that incurred the resentment of the whole In- 
dian village, and instilled in the Indian a rank- 

13 Black Hawk's Autobiography, Le Claire, Ch. XII. 



30 



THE DAVIS SETTLEMENT. 




CHIEF SHABONA. 

ling" desire for revenge. The incident, however, 
was settled by Chief Shabona with the assist- 
ance of another Indian chief named Waubansee, 
who advised the Indians not to resort to force- 
ful reparation and to do their fishing below the 
dam. The Indians followed Shabona 's advice 
for some time, but after a while Davis noticed 
that they ceased to go below the dam to fish, 
and being quite familiar with the Indian char- 
acter, he took it as an intimation of their anger, 
and he prepared for hostilities. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MASSACRE. 

The year 1831 was known to early settlers in 
Illinois as "The Dry Year/' There was little 
rain and there were long spells of great heat, so 
that vegetation was parched and the crop a 
failure. The season of 1832 was just the oppo- 
site. 14 During the first half of the month of 
May there were numerous heavy thunder storms 
with intervals of hot weather that made the 
grass and flowers grow very rapidly, but de- 
layed the farmers in their planting. Also, the 
several Indian scares interrupted the settlers in 
their regular work in the fields. 

As already stated, immediately after the 
breaking up of the Indian council after the de- 
feat of Stillman, Shabona rode in post haste to 
the Davis Settlement and warned the people of 
the danger of an Indian massacre. The whites 
loaded on their wagons such articles as could 
be readily handled, and drove to Ottawa, the 
nearest fort, where there was a garrison of sol- 
diers. 

The Indians did not make the expected raid, 
and slowly the settlers returned to their home- 

14 "Historic Illinois," Parish, 258. 

[31] 



32 



THE MASSACRE. 



steads. During this retreat some of the people 
tantalized Davis for running away from the 
Indians, and his reply was that he would never 
do so again. 

On Monday morning, May 21st, Shabona 
again rode to the Davis Settlement and warned 
the whites that there was immediate danger of 
a massacre. At this time it happened that Davis 
was at Ottawa on some business when Shabona 
called. However, his family, and the neighbors 
hastily loaded their furniture and other mov- 
able articles on wagons, and hurriedly drove off 
to Ottawa. They had almost reached the fort 
when they met Davis, who ordered his own fam- 
ily to return, and urged the return of his im- 
mediate neighbors, inviting them all to go to his 
place w T here they would be perfectly safe. The 
Halls, Hendersons and Pettigrews. with two 
farm hands named Henry George and Robert 
Morris, reluctantly returned with Davis, and 
arrived at his cottage about noon. 

After dinner John AY. Henderson. Alexander 
Davis and a younger son of William Davis. Ed- 
ward and Greenbury Hall, and Allen Howard, 
went to a field about one hundred rods south of 
the Davis cottage, to plant corn. In the middle 
of the afternoon William Hall. John W. Hall. 



THE MASSACRE. 



33 



Robert Norris, Henry George and William 
Davis, Jr., who were working on the mill-dam, 
gathered into the blacksmith shop where Davis 
was repairing his gun, to get a drink from a 
pail of water which had been brought from a 
nearby spring. All the loaded guns and the 
ammunition were in the dwelling house, where 
Pettigrew, with his baby in his arms, was chat- 
ting with the ladies who were sewing by the 
open door. The afternoon was very hot and 
was not inspiring to great exertion. The furni- 
ture which had been loaded to drive to Ottawa, 
was still on the wagons that stood in the yard. 
The perfume of the blooming flowers filled the 
air which was rich in its freshness after the 
many days of rain and lightning. All nature 
seemed to instil in the little Davis Settlement a 
feeling of safety or at least to relieve them from 
alarm during the daytime. With the coming 
darkness, no douibt, they would have all gath- 
ered into the little cottage and some of the men 
would have stood guard with their guns to 
watch for Indians. 

About four o'clock a party of sixty to seventy 
Indians suddenly leaped over the garden fence, 
filled the yard, and part of them rushed towards 
the house. Mr. Pettigrew leaped forward to 



34 



THE MASSACRE. 



close the door, but was instantly shot dead. 
Through the open door the Indians rushed with 
spears, and hatchets, and guns, filling the little 
cottage. There was no place to hide and no 
chance for the whites to escape. In her despair 
Mrs. Pettigrew threw her arms around Rachel 
Hall and was killed by a shot so close to Rachel 
as to blacken her face with the powder. Rachel 
jumped upon the bed, which only placed her in 
view of more Indians and increased the danger 
of being shot. 

The piteous screams of the women and chil- 
dren were terrifying. The Indians stuck them 
with spears and hacked them with tomahawks 
without feeling or mercy, and as they fell each 
victim's scalp was cut off with a big knife. 

An Indian grabbed Pettigrew 's baby by the 
legs, rushed out doors, swung the child over 
his head, and dashed its brains out against a 
stump in the yard. There, also, an Indian on 
each side held the youngest Davis boy by his 
hands, the little lad standing pale and silent, 
and a third Indian shot him dead. As his limp 
body fell, an Indian scalped him. 

In a few moments all the whites in the house 
excepting Sylvia and Rachel Hall, namely: Mrs. 



THE MASSACRE. 



as 



Wm. Hall, aged forty-five years, her daughter 
Elizabeth, aged eight years, Wm. Pettigrew, 
his wife and two children, and Mrs. Wm. Davis 
and her five children, were killed. 

The sudden appearance of the Indians bewil- 
dered the men who were in the blacksmith shop, 
as they were cut off from their guns and am- 
munition. Young Davis slipped behind the shop 
and thence escaped down the creek. The others 
rushed towards the house and were met by a 
volley of shots. William Hall, whose breast was 
pierced by two bullets, with a prayer on his lips, 
fell dead at his son John's feet. Davis called 
out to John Ball to "Take care!" and then 
tried to escape to the woods. Notwithstanding 
his prowess and that he made a desperate fight 
for his life by using his unloaded gun as a club, 
he was in a short time so overcome by Indian 
warriors with their spears and tomahawks that 
with innumerable wounds he sank dead in his 
yard. John Hall was so paralyzed by the awful 
carnage, that for a moment he did not move 
from where his father lay. He watched the In- 
dians reloading their guns, then as a man awak- 
ening from a night-mare he jumped down the 
high bank and a volley of bullets passed over 



36 



THE MASSACRE. 



his head. By hugging closely to the bank next 
the Indians, he scrambled hastily down the 
stream and then ran as he never ran before, 
thus escaping. Norris and George slid down 
the bank and attempted to cross the creek, but 
a volley of bullets from the Indians killed one 
of them as he was climbing the bank, his body 
falling back into the creek, and the other fell 
on the green sward above. 

John W. Henderson, two sons of Wm. Davis 
and two sons of Wm. Hall, who were at work 
in the cornfield when the Indians made the at- 
tack upon the Davis cottage, comprehending the 
situation, hastily fled to Ottawa, They had sped 
only about two miles when John W. Hall over- 
took them. By reason of his scudding from 
death in the great heat and his excited condi- 
tion, John's account of the massacre was inco- 
herently told with uncontrolled emotions of 
grief and rage. Believing that the Indians 
were pursuing, he did not check his speed, but 
urged the others to extra efforts until they 
reached the fort. 

Sylvia and Rachel Hall were each seized by 
two Indians who dragged them out of the cot- 
tage to the yard where the final acts of the mas- 
sacre were taking place. 



THE MASSACRE). 



37 



In their fiendish desire for revenge for Still- 
man's treachery and to terrify the whites, the 
Indians cut out the hearts of some of the slain 
and otherwise mutilated their bodies. Of all 
the whites none but Rachel and Sylvia Hall re- 
mained alive to witness the closing act of the 
horrible tragedy. As they saw scattered in the 
yard the bodies of their murdered parents, their 
sister, and their neighbors — sixteen in all, the 
girls were stupefied with horror. The wonder 
is that the shock did not kill both of them. 

The massacre has been described so often, and 
is so sickening in its particulars, that we drop 
the curtain on the tragic scene. 15 

15 3 Smith's "History of Wisconsin", 187; "History 
of La Salle County," Baldwin, 95; "The Black Hawk 
War," Stevens, 150; "Memories of Shabona," Mat- 
son, 145-155; Ottawa Journal, Aug. 30, 1906; 12 Trans- 
actions 111. State Hist. Soc, 332; Ford's History of 
Illinois, 122. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CAPTIVITY. 

A person never knows what he would do 
under conditions and circumstances never be- 
fore experienced : a mother who would flee from 
a cow, would, to protect her child, fight a tiger 
without thought of her own safety; a timid 
deer that would flee from a baby, when its 
nature is changed by a serious wound will fight 
a hunter to death; a soldier's nature becomes so 
changed in battle that he obeys orders like an 
automatom, and in his efforts to kill men exerts 
himself until the sweat rolls down his face as it 
would down the face of a harvest hand mowing 
grass. 

Sylvia and Rachel Hall, who in the peace of 
their home would faint at the sight of blood, 
had their nature so changed during the slaugh- 
ter and mutilation of their dear relatives and 
friends that they viewed the scene with horror 
that almost paralyzed them and put them in a 
psychological condition of mental aberration. 

The spell of lethargy was rudely broken when 
the girls were dragged off as captives, first to 
the creek, and, after Rachel had been pulled 
half way across the stream, then back again to 

[38] 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



39 



the yard. There two Indians, each seizing one 
of Sylvia's hands, and two others taking Rachel 
in a similar manner, hustled the girls north- 
ward along the easterly side of the creek. The 
girls were soon in unknown lands through 
which they were tugged on, and on, not know- 
ing whither nor to what fate. Did they cry? 
Of course they did; strong men would have 
wept under similar circumstances. Did they 
pray? Yes; but their prayers were not like the 
Pharisee's: they prayed with an intense feeling 
from the bottom of their hearts and with all 
the power of their souls. Were their prayers 
answered? Were they? Read on, read on! 

After being hustled and half dragged about 
a mile and a half, they came to where a number 
of horses were tied in the edge of a grove. Here 
they met friends: horses belonging to their 
father and their neighbors. The horses pricked 
up their ears, looked at the girls and whinnied 
— returning the girls' recognition. If the girls 
could have mounted two of these friendly ani- 
mals that were bred in Kentucky they might 
have ridden to freedom; but it was not so to be. 

The Indians put each girl on a pony furnished 
with an Indian saddle and led by a warrior. 
Thus they traveled on, keeping due north. 



40 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



After the sun had set the additional terror of 
darkness was enveloping them. Occasionally a 
night-hawk would break the awful silence by 
swooping down from his great height with his 
accustomed "Boo-oo-oo, " and a whippoor-will 
would add his monotonous whistle from a de- 
cayed log in the adjacent woods. Otherwise, it 
was as solemn a procession as ever moved to the 
grave, and only for the crack of his whip and 
an occasional "ugh" from an Indian there was 
little to attract attention until they passed a 
large grove on their left. The girls had heard 
of Shabbona's Grove. Was this that historical 
sylvan place? Would Shabona come to their 
relief? He had saved them and their friends 
before, and if it had not been for the obstinacy 
of Davis they would not have been in their 
awful predicament. But the chief, worn out 
and tired from his long wild ride of the night 
before and asleep in his tent, was unconscious 
of the passing of that strange and unusual pro- 
cession. 

Hour after hour passed as the girls rode along 
weary and heart-sick on that dark night, with 
nothing but the stars to light their way, and not 
a ray of hope in their hearts. The head waters 
of Indian creek and of the Somonauk had been 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



41 



passed and the source of the Sycamore was 
reached just as the moon was rising, 51 min- 
utes after twelve o'clock. 16 Here the first stop 
was made and the girls were allowed to rest on 
some blankets on which they sat together, not 
daring to lie down to sleep. The Indians 
holding their ponies by the bridles, danced a 
little, but nothing was said that would indicate 
their intent, either as to the place of destina- 
tion or what they intended to do with their cap- 
tives. As the girls could not speak the Indian 
language or understand it, there was little me- 
dium of communication between them and the 
Indians. Their feelings of sorrow for their mur- 
dered relatives mixed with the uncertainty of 
their own fate, and their disheveled hair and 
soiled cheeks through which their tears washed 
courses, make them objects of woeful misery. 
Oh ! if the girls could only wash their faces, 
which were stained with powder and the blood 
of their dear friends, or even in their sorrow 
comb each other's hair as they had often done 
at their father's cottage, it would have re- 
freshed them, and, to some extent, relieved their 
distress. 

^Washington Observatory Record; "Old Farmer's 
Almanac," 1832. 



42 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



About half -past three o'clock in the morning 
of May 22nd, the girls were replaced on the 
ponies, the Indians remounted, and once more 
the train proceeded in its former order, with 
Indians before, on the sides, and in the rear of 
the girls. They passed groves, here and there, 
and hour after hour, with tiresome monotony, 
they moved along. 

After the sun had lapped the dew. it grew 
very warm and Rachel became weary almost to 
collapse. She thought that if she could walk 
for a little while it would give her relief, not- 
withstanding her weak condition from fasting 
and worry. She did not know the language of 
the Indians, but necessity finds a way : she made 
signs of distress and indicated that she wanted 
to walk. The Indians understood her and as- 
sisted her from her pony. This little act of 
gallantry gave her the first indication of their 
human sympathy and inspired her with some 
confidence in their honor. 

Limp and staggering, she managed to keep 
pace with the procession. AVhen they reached 
the Kishwaukee there was no hesitation and all 
plunged into the stream. Rachel, who had not 
been replaced on her pony, was forced to wade 
across through water three feet deep. 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



43 



It was now about two o'clock in the afternoon 
and a stop was made about twenty-five miles 
easterly from Stillman's Run, on the west of 
a large grove, to allow the ponies to graze on 
the bank of the river. Here they remained for 
about two hours. The Indians scalded some 
beans and roasted some acorns, of which they 
ate heartily and offered portions to the girls, 
who tried to eat so as not to offend the Indians. 

After the Indians had finished their lunch 
they busied themselves in stretching on little 
hoops the scalps that they had taken in the 
massacre at Indian Creek. The girls immedi- 
ately recognized the scalps of some of their 
friends, particularly the scalp of their mother. 
The sight caused Sylvia to faint. Limp and un- 
conscious she lay beside her sister, who by the 
incident was again put into her former psychic 
condition, being oblivious to everything about 
her excepting her sister's care. The subcon- 
scious thought that she had to protect Sylvia 
inspired her with superhuman strength as well 
as the fighting spirit of a lioness. If Sylvia 
should die ! what then ? If she should be unable 
to travel, would the Indians kill her ? What tor- 
ture of mind Rachel must have suffered ! 

About four o'clock Sylvia regained her con- 



44 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



sciousness, to the great relief of Rachel who re- 
covered her normal condition of mind. By this 
time the Indians had gathered their horses, and 
replacing the girls on the ponies that they had 
been riding, all moved forward leisurely. 

Shortly after starting a detachment of the 
Indians was sent out to scout to the westward, 
and after being gone some time they returned 
apparently excited, and immediately the proces- 
sion assumed a double-quick, during which the 
Indian guards in the rear held their spears 
poised, as though they expected an attack. 
After traveling in that manner for about five 
miles, the Indians resumed their composure and 
slackened their speed to a walking pace. 

Had the Indians seen some of Gen. Whiteside's 
scouts ? Had they learned that a detachment 
of Illinois Militia, of which Abraham Lincoln 
was a member, was moving towards them up 
the Kishwaukee? 17 Or, were the Indians pur- 
sued by the friends of the girls ? 

If the whites should attack the Indians, Sylvia 
and Rachel feared that they would share the 
fate of their relatives and friends at the Davis 
Settlement. Therefore, when the excitement of 

17 XII Wis. Hist. Col., 241, 242; "The Black Hawk 
War." 146. 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



45 



the Indians subsided, a feeling of relief from 
danger of immediate death calmed the girls. 

The extra exertion during the scare caused 
the pony that Sylvia was riding to give out, and 
it was abandoned. Sylvia was then placed be- 
hind an Indian on a fine horse belonging to Mr. 
Henderson, which, like the girls, had been taken 
captive at Indian Creek. Thus they traveled, 
on and on, until about nine o'clock in the even- 
ing when they arrived at Black Hawk's Grove 
on the east side of the present city of Janesville, 
Wisconsin, where the whole of Black Hawk's 
tribe was encamped. 18 During twenty-eight 
hours the girls had traveled about eighty miles 
from the place of their capture, and were worn 
out almost beyond description. No one can 
fully comprehend their condition without re- 
flecting upon that extremely long ride on horse- 
back, without food or drink, mourning their 
dead, and tortured with the worry over their 
future fate. 

On their arrival at Black Hawk's Grove there 
was great rejoicing at the Indian camp. Sev- 
eral squaws hurried to the girls, assisted them 
off their horses, and conducted them to the een- 

18 Hist. of Rock Co., by Gurnsey & Willard, 19; 14 
Wis. Hist. Col., 129; 6 Wis. Hist. Col., 422. 



46 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



ter of the camp where they had prepared a 
comfortable place in the form of beds of animal 
skins and blankets. Also, the squaws brought 
in wooden bowls, parched corn, meal and maple- 
sugar mixed, which they invited the girls to 
eat. More through fear than appetite, the girls 
partook of the food, although it was disgusting 
to them. 

The squaws requested the girls to throw on 
the fire particles of food and some tobacco 
which they handed them. The girls complied 
with the request of their dusky hosts, although 
they did not know for what purpose it was re- 
quired. As a matter of fact, it was a common 
practice among the Indian tribes to make the 
offering of food and tobacco to their gods in 
case of escape from death or as thanks for some 
extraordinary good fortune. 19 

The squaws requested Sylvia and Rachel to 
lie down on separate beds, and then a squaw lay 
on each side of each of the girls, so that there 
was no chance for escape. Thus abed, they had 
a night of confused, disordered sleep, in which 
visions of their friends and the scenes of the 
massacre haunted them almost continually. The 

19 2 "Indian Tribes of U. S.", Drake, 68, 72; 6 School- 
craft's, "History of Indian Tribes of the U. S.", 83, 88. 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



41 



squaws endeavored to soothe the girls, but they 
could not take the place of that mother who in 
their childish nightmares would say to them : 
"My dears, say a prayer and try to sleep." 

"But God is sweet. 

My mother told me so, 
When I knelt at her feet 
Long — so long — ago; 
She clasped my hands in hers. 
Ah! me, that memory stirs 
My soul's profoundest deep — 
No wonder that I weep. 
She clasped my hands and smiled, 
Ah! then I was a child — 
I knew no harm — 
My mother's arm 
Was flung around me; and I felt 
That when I knelt 

To listen to my mother's prayer, 
God was with mother there. 
Yea! "God is sweet!" 
She told me so; 
She never told me wrong; 
And through my years of woe 
Her whispers soft, and sad, and low, 

And sweet as Angel's song, 
Have floated like a dream. — Fr. Ryan. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TO THE RESCUE. 

When John W. Hall arrived at Ottawa he did 
not know that his sisters had been taken prison- 
ers, but he supposed that they had been massa- 
cred with the rest of the people at the Davis 
cottage. His first impulse was revenge, and he 
rushed wildly about, urging men to arm and go 
with him to the scene of the massacre. The 
spirit of adventure was rampant among the 
people at the time, and John soon found him- 
self at the head of a considerable number of 
mounted men armed with all kinds of guns, who 
followed him like a mob, from Ottawa to the 
Davis Settlement. 

On their way out they met some of the men 
who were defeated at Stillman's Run, returning 
to Ottawa. John endeavored to have these men 
accompany him to the Davis Settlement, but 
they had enough of Indian adventure, and in- 
stead of assisting John, discouraged the men 
with him from engaging in a fight with the 
Indians. 

When John's squadron arrived at the Davis 
cottage there was presented an awful sight — 
thirteen murdered and mutilated bodies in and 

[48] 



TO THE RESCUE. 



49 



about the cottage, some hung on shambles like 
butchered pigs, just as they were left by the 
Indians. On the creek below the cottage were 
found the bodies of Norris and George where 
they fell from the bullets of the Indians. The 
absence of his sisters Rachel and Sylvia from 
among the dead, presented to John a new quan- 
dary. A careful search was made about the 
premises but no traces of the girls could be 
found. 

After having seen the awful deaths of their 
fellow-whites, the men who accompanied John 
had their desire for adventure changed to a 
feeling of fear, which they tried to hide under 
the excuse that it would be impossible to pro- 
ceed after the Indians without rations and tents. 

The situation was a trying one for John. In 
vain did he appeal to the men to help him rescue 
his sisters. Not one would volunteer to go with 
him, and after burying all the dead in one grave 
in front of the little cottage, John and his 
squadron hastily returned to Ottawa. 

In hopes of rescuing his sisters, John again 
recruited a force and obtained the necessaries to 
follow up the Indians. Early on the second day 
after the massacre, with about forty men and 
two days' rations, without any commissary, 



50 



TO THE RESCUE. 



John led his little army to the Davis Settlement 
and along the Indian trail until he lost it on 
the great prairie. He concluded that the In- 
dians had taken the "Kishwaukee Trail" to 
where the Kishwaukee flows into the Rock 
River, and he followed that route until he ar- 
rived at his objective point without attaining 
his chief aim. Disappointed in not even getting 
any information of his sisters and in not find- 
ing further track of the Indians, and his rations 
having run out, John was again obliged to re- 
turn with his troops to Ottawa for a fresh sup- 
ply, when once more he started on a fruitless 
search for his sisters. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 

When a remnant of Stillman's men returned 
to Dixon after an exciting ride of twenty-four 
miles from Stillman's Run, they reported that 
they had been attacked by thousands of Indians 
and that all the rest of the army had been mas- 
sacred. The exaggerated report set a few of the 
men who had not been with Stillman, keen to 
fight ; but it instilled into most of them a sense 
of home-sickness, and many of them requested 
to be excused from duty. Gen. Taylor imme- 
diately reported the situation to Gen. Atkinson, 
at Ottawa, and the latter ordered Generals 
Whiteside and Harney, who were in command 
of some United States regulars, to pursue the 
Indians. 

When the troops arrived at Stillman's Run 
they found the bodies of thirteen soldiers and 
most of the deserted commissary which had in- 
cluded a barrel of whiskey that Black Hawk 
emptied on the ground. Black Hawk destroyed 
the wagons and everything else that could not 
be carried away, excepting a few boats that be- 
longed to the Indians which were left on the 
river bank. 

[51] 



52 



MILITARY MOVEMENTS, 



As a matter of fact Black Hawk had only 
forty warriors with him at the time of the at- 
tack on him by Stillman's men, while Stillman 
had about three hundred men. At the time of 
the attack many of Stillman's men were under 
the influence of liquor and most of them in such 
a state of insubordination that they paid no 
attention to the orders of their officers. Thus 
they rushed into the camp of Black Hawk, and, 
as each was acting independently, it was but a 
short time until the Indians by their shots and 
yells had the militia scared crazy and on the 
run. 20 

On May 22nd, in accordance with Gen. An- 
derson's order, Gen. Whiteside took up and fol- 
lowed the Indian trail for thirty-six miles along 
the Kishwaukee and the Sycamore; but when 
the high prairie was reached, the Indians scat- 
tered so in all directions that the troops were 
unable to track them further, and the army 
proceeded to the Pox River and down that 
stream to Ottawa, where it arrived on May 27th. 

On the day that the girls passed a few miles 
to the east, the United States troops found on 
the Sycamore, articles belonging to the Indians 

^The Black Hawk War, Stevens, 133, 137. 



MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 



53 



who committed the massacre at Davis Settle- 
ment, among which were three scalps. Perhaps 
it was fortunate for the girls that Gen. White- 
side had not discovered and attacked the In- 
dians, because under such circumstances the 
Indians might have murdered them. 

Among the troops under Gen. Whiteside was 
the company in which Captain Abraham Lin- 
coln, subsequently the great president of the 
United States, served. Probably the girls had 
not yet heard of him, who, if he had known of 
their predicament, might have ended their cap- 
tivity on that day. 

During the march up the Sycamore, an old 
Pottawatomie Indian came into camp, tired and 
hungry, with a letter of safe conduct, signed 
by Gen. Lewis Cass. Some of the men declared 
the letter was a forgery, and that the Indian 
was a spy and should be put to death. When 
the soldiers threatened the poor fellow, Capt. 
Lincoln stepped forward and said that he would 
shoot any man who would assault the Indian. 21 
It can be readily seen how a man of Lincoln's 
bravery and superior mental resources, might 
have freed the girls without injury to them. 

21 The Black Hawk War, 285. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

REWARD OFFERED. 

The day after the massacre messengers car- 
ried the news in all directions to the various 
settlements in Illinois, southern "Wisconsin, 
northern Indiana and western Michigan. At 
every settlement block-houses or stockades were 
built and the whites prepared to defend them- 
selves against attacks of the Indians. At Ga- 
lena the people assembled on May 28th and 
passed resolutions (among other things) deplor- 
ing the captivity of the Hall girls and declaring 
their obligations to obtain the release ot the 
captives. In Michigan along the lake shore, 
there was great excitement, intensified by fre- 
quent rumors that the Indians were coming. 22 

Gen. Atkinson who was then at Ottawa offered 
the Indians a reward of $2,000 in horses, goods 
or money, for the safe delivery of the girls, as it 
was feared that if force were used the Indians 
would murder the girls. In Wisconsin, Col. 
Dodge who had command at Blue Mounds Fort 
(25 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin), immedi- 
ately recruited an army and made plans to get 

-Michigan newspapers, 1832. 
[54] 



REWARD OFFERED. 



55 



the girls. Lieutenant Edward Beouchard at 
Blue Mounds and Henry Gratiot of Gratiot's 
Grove (15 miles northeast of Galena), who were 
friends of the Indians with whom they had 
great influence, engaged in the search for the 
girls. 

Gratiot went to Turtle Village (now Beloit, 
Wisconsin), where there was a tribe of Winne- 
bagoes with whom he had been on friendly 
terms and who were supposed to be friends of 
the whites. However, the Indians took him 
prisoner and he almost sacrificed his life in his 
endeavor to obtain the release of the Hall girls. 
He succeeded, however, in making his message 
known to the Indians, and arousing among them 
a strong incentive to obtain the reward. While 
he was held as a prisoner, an Indian chief to 
whom Gratiot had often given presents and 
shown kindness, came to him and offered his 
services to aid in Gratiot's escape. Also Col. 
Gratiot was the government agent who paid the 
Winnebagoes their annual allowance from the 
United States government, which, no doubt, had 
some influence. The Indian took the Colonel to 
his tent, and late in the night silently conducted 
him to the river and gave him a canoe in which 
he paddled to safety. On his return home, 



66 



REWARD OFFERED. 



Gratiot reported that the captive girls were 
somewhere near the head of Rock River in 
southern AVisconsin. He had gleaned that much 
information from conversations among the In- 
dians whose language he understood. 

Not knowing that Col. Gratiot had visited 
Turtle Village, Gen. Anderson sent by messen- 
ger to Blue Mounds, the following letter : 

" Headquarters Right Wing West. Dept., 
Dixon's Ferry, 27th May, 1832. 

"Sip: 

''In the attack of the Sac Indians on the set- 
tlements on a branch of Fox River the 22nd 
inst., fifteen men, women, and children, were 
killed, and two young women were taken pris- 
oners. This heart-rending occurrence should 
not only call forth our sympathies, but urge us 
to relieve the survivors. 

"You will therefore proceed to the Turtle 
Village or send someone of confidence and pre- 
vail on the head chiefs and braves of the Win- 
nebagoes there to go over to the hostile Sacs 
and endeavor to ransom the prisoners. Offer 
the Winnebagoes a large reward to effect the 
object : $500 or $1000 for each. 



REWARD OFFERED. 



57 



"I expected to have heard from you before 
this. 

Very respectfully your obt. sevt., 
H. ATKINSON, 
Brig. Gen., U. S. Army." 

' ' Henry Gratiot, Esq., 

Indian Agent." 

When the dispatch reached the Mounds on 
May 28, Col. Gratiot who had already visited 
Turtle Village had not returned, and Lieutenant 
Beouchard who was then in command of the 
Fort, opened the dispatch and forwarded it to 
the Colonel. Also, Beouchard sent the sub- 
stance of the dispatch to Col. Dodge, who was 
then at Fort Union, Col. Dodge's residence, 
near Dodgeville. Then Lieutenant Beouchard 
mounted his horse and rode to a Winnebago 
encampment which was situated northeast of 
Blue Mounds where Chief Wau-kon-kah was the 
head Indian. Beouchard requested the chief to 
go to White Crow, Whirling Thunder and 
Spotted Arm and inform them of the captivity 
of the Hall girls, and the reward that had been 
offered for their release, instructing the Indians 
to get the girls at any risk : by purchase, if pos- 
sible ; but by force, if necessary. He assured 



58 



REWARD OFFERED. 



the Indians that they would receive the reward 
in case of success. The Indians promised to 
make the attempt. 

May 28th, Col. Gratiot wrote a letter to Gov- 
ernor Porter, of Michigan, telling of the In- 
Indian Creek Massacre and the captivity of the 
Hall girls, and, among other things, said: * 4 Com- 
pelled by our feelings and relying on the jus- 
tice of our country, we did not hesitate to prom- 
ise a few of my trusty Winnebagoes a reward 
if they would bring us those ladies unhurt. We 
promised them the highest reward that could 
be offered." Therefore, it is evident that Gra- 
tiot had offered a reward for the release of the 
girls before he received Gen. Anderson's dis- 
patch. 

On the day that Col. Gratiot returned from 
Turtle Village, he received Gen. Anderson's 
letter. On the same day he received further 
information that the Winnebagoes had success 
in their endeavors to ransom the unfortunate 
girls, and he immediately started for Blue 
Mounds, where he arrived on June 2nd. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE CAPTIVE GIBES. 

In Chapter V we left the girls as prisoners at 
Black Hawk's Grove, Janesville, Wisconsin. 
Notwithstanding their night of disturbed sleep 
and great need for rest, the girls were awak- 
ened at daylight by the noise of the Indians 
around the tent. 

Soon after the girls arose the squaws brought 
them their breakfast which consisted of dried 
sliced meat, coffee and porridge made of corn 
pounded and water, that was served in wooden 
bowls with wooden spoons. The little rest that 
the girls got through the night, revived them 
and gave them some appetite, so that they were 
able to eat part of the food, although they did 
not relish it. 

Breakfast being finished, the Indians cleared 
off a piece of ground about ninety feet in cir- 
cumference and erected in the center a pole 
about twenty-five feet high, around which they 
set up fifteen spears, on the points of which 
were placed the scalps of the murdered friends 
of the girls. To the horror of the girls, they 
recognized the scalps of their father, mother 
and Mrs. Pettigrew. Upon three separate spears 

[59] 



60 



THE CAPTIVE GIRLS. 



the Indians placed three human hearts, which 
added greatly to the horror of the girls. Was 
one of the hearts their mother's? 

The Indians jabbered among themselves for 
awhile and then the squaws painted one side of 
the face of each of the girls red and the other 
side black. Then the girls were laid with their 
faces downward on blankets near the center, 
just leaving room for the Indians to pass be- 
tween them and the pole. When these prelimi- 
naries were completed, the warriors, grasping 
in their hands their spears, which they occasion- 
ally struck into the ground, and yelling all the 
while as Indians only can, danced around the 
girls. Every moment while this was going on, 
the girls expected to be thrust through with 
the spears; but they had become so harrassed 
with dread of torture, that they almost wished 
to have death end their troubles. However, not 
one of the spears touched the girls, and out- 
side of keeping them in terror, they were in 
nowise injured. 

After the warriors had continued their dance 
for about half an hour, two old squaws (one of 
whom was the wife of Black Hawk) led the 
girls away to a wigwam where they washed off 
the paint as well as they could by scrubbing 



THE! CAPTIVE GIRLS. 



61 



them unmercifully. The squaws had adopted 
the girls, and, as the children of chiefs, they 
were not required to work. 

The Indians having finished their dance, 
struck their tents, and, after a good deal of 
bustle and confusion, the whole camp started 
in a northerly direction. When they reached 
v point beyond the grove, it seemed to the girls 
that the whole earth was alive with Indians. 
Probably not less than 4,000 warriors, squaws, 
and children constituted that army. 

Tired and sore from their former long ride 
and greatly exhausted by their constant fears, 
it was an extraordinary ordeal for the girls to 
plunge still farther into the wilderness. During 
traveling hours the girls were separated and 
each was placed in charge of two squaws. 
Whenever the army halted the girls were 
brought together, but always kept under the 
surveilance of the four squaws. 

Their march from Black Hawk's Grove was 
very slow and over a broad prairie. Shortly 
before sundown the Indians pitched their tents 
at Cold Spring, about three miles southeast of 
Ft. Atkinson, near "Burnt Village,'' the camp 
of Little Priest. 23 



23 Hist. of Jefferson Co., 327. 



62 



THE CAPTIVE GIRLS. 



As soon as the tents were erected everybody 
partook of some food, most of the Indians with- 
out any utensils, but the girls were supplied 
with the usual dishes : wooden plates, bowls and 
spoons. At this place maple-sugar seemed to be 
abundant and the girls were furnished all of it 
that they could eat. Also, the squaws seemed 
to appreciate the fact that the girls were suf- 
fering from exposure, and took great pains to 
make their quarters as comfortable as possible. 

During their long tramp through the brush, 
the light working dresses that the girls had on 
at the time that they were captured had become 
badly torn, and the squaws brought Rachel a 
red and white calico dress with ruffles around 
the bottom, and Sylvia, a blue calico. The In- 
dians requested the girls to throw away their 
shoes and put on moccasins, against which the 
latter strongly protested and refused to take off 
their shoes. No violence to take away their 
shoes was used, and the girls continued to wear 
them. An Indian threw away Rachel's comb 
and she immediately went after it and kept it 
so that it could not be snatched away again 
without using force, to which the Indians did 
not resort. 

As night set in the Indians retired and each 



THE CAPTIVE GIRLS. 



63 



of the girls had to sleep between two squaws, 
which they were compelled to do thereafter up 
to the time that they were turned over to the 
Winnebagoes. 

Day after day the Indians changed the loca- 
tion of their camp, probably to evade the whites 
if they should pursue them. From Cold Spring 
by circuitous routes, through the beautiful lake 
country around Oeonomowoc, they moved 
northward until they reached the rolling hills 
near Horicon Lake where they pitched their 
camp not far from the rapids, and southeast of 
the Indian village of Big Fox. 24 

The girls had now traveled about 150 miles 
north from their home. It was the eighth day 
of their captivity, and to them the time was so 
long that every minute seemed almost a day; 
and since they last sat at dinner in the little 
cottage of William Davis at Indian Creek, al- 
though very vivid in their minds, seemed an 
age. Also, the unknown places at which they 
had camped being in such various directions 
from each other, the girls had no idea how far 
they had gone from Black Hawk's Grove 

24 V. Wis. Hist. Col., 260; Black Hawk's Autobiogra- 
phy, 106, 110, 160; "Waubun," 320; Hist, of Dodge 
Co., by Hubbell, 67. 



64 



THE; CAPTIVE GIRLS. 



(Janesville). Everywhere they traveled Indian 
camps were numerous, because as soon as spring 
had opened the Indians divided into small 
camps to make maple sugar. Were the girls to 
put an estimate upon the number of Indians in 
that unknown region, it certainly would have 
reached high up into the thousands. 

At every camp the dance around the pole 
with all its hideous surroundings, accompanied 
by the Indian yells and war-whoops, the rattling 
of gourds, and waving of weapons, was re- 
peated. 

Among the tribes east of the Mississippi River 
it was an honor principle that their female cap- 
tives should not be tortured nor their chastity 
violated; but if white men were taken captives 
they were reduced to slavery and obliged to 
wait upon the white women after they had been 
adopted by the Indians. 25 Notwithstanding this 
unwritten law, these dances with the scalps on 
the spears harrassed the girls and caused them 
to sob and weep bitterly. 

One morning after many repetitions of the 
dance around the pole, the program was varied 
by a party of warriors coming to the lodge 
where the girls were in the custody of the 

25 1, "Handbook of American Indians, " 203. 



THE OAPTTVE GIRLS. 



G5 



squaws, placing in their hands small red flags, 
and then the Indians with their captives 
marched around the encampment, stopping at 
each wigwam and waving their flags at the 
doors, accompanied by some recitation of a 
chief and the rattling of gourds, all of which 
was not understood by the girls and they were 
unable to comprehend the significance of what 
they were doing. As a matter of fact the per- 
formance was a religious ceremony in which 
the gourds took the place of bells used by sev- 
eral Christian denominations during their re- 
ligious ceremonies. 



CHAPTER X. 



RANSOMED. 

On the morning of the ninth day of their cap- 
tivity, some warriors took Sylvia off about forty 
rods to where a number of chiefs seemed to be 
holding a council. One of the Indians told 
Sylvia that she must go with an old chief who 
was pointed out to her, namely, "White Crow, 
a chief of the Winnebagoes, who was about 
fifty years of age, tall, slim, with a hawk nose, 
and as much of sinister look as a man who had 
only one eye could have, for one of his eyes 
had been put out in a brawl. He was addicted 
to drink, gambling, fighting, and other disrep- 
utable practices. 26 Under any circumstances 
Sylvia might have protested against going with 
him; but when he informed her that Rachel 
must stay behind, Sylvia declared that she 
would not go without her sister. White Crow, 
who was a fine and fluent orator, and spokesman 
of his band on all occasions, made a long, loud 
speech in which he exhibited considerable ex- 
citement, but was listened to with great interest 
by the other warriors. After he had finished, 
Chief Whirling Thunder arose, walked over to 

26 X. Wis. Hist. Col., 253. 
[66] 

! 



RANSOMED. 



67 



where Rachel was and brought her to where the 
council was being held. The situation was pain- 
fully interesting to the girls, because they had 
some intimation that it was all about their fate. 

After some conversation among the chiefs 
they shook hands and the captives were sur- 
rendered to White Crow, who must now get the 
girls to Blue Mounds Fort to obtain the $2,000 
reward. The Fort was about eighty miles to 
the southwest in a bee line. By the nearest trail 
through the Madison lake region, it was about 
ninety-three miles ; and by way of Portage and 
thence on the Military Road to the Blue Mounds 
Fort, it was about one hundred and seven miles. 
The Sacs and Foxes were along the former 
route, which meant great danger, and the Mili- 
tary Road was the best in that country. There- 
fore, White Crow chose the latter route. The 
horses were brought, riding switches were cut 
and White Crow and Whirling Thunder with 
their captives seemed ready to go. The squaws 
with whom the girls had been staying were very 
much grieved at parting with them, tears roll- 
ing down their cheeks, and the girls who now 
reciprocated the affection of the squaws, pre- 
ferred to stay with them rather than to go with 



68 



RANSOMED. 



the warriors; but the chief's stern orders had to 
be obeyed. 

At this trying moment of the girls, a young 
warrior suddenly stepped up to Rachel and with 
a large knife cut a lock of hair from over her 
right ear and another from the back of her 
head. At the same time he muttered to White 
Crow, in the Indian language, something which 
the girls afterwards learned, was that he would 
have Eachel back in three or four days. His 
example was followed by another Indian who 
stepped up to Sylvia and without leave or a 
word of explanation, cut a lock of hair from 
the front of her head and placed it in his hunt- 
ing-pouch. Sometime afterward a number of 
Indians made an attack on Kellogg 's Grove 
colony (near Dodgeville, Wis.) and one of them 
who was shot by a miner named Casey had 
around his neck a lock of braided hair which 
was subsequently identified as that taken from 
the head of Eachel Hall. 

It might not be amiss, here, to state that 
among some of the Indian tribes the cutting of 
the hair had a mystical meaning closely allied 
to the life of a person, and was usually attended 
with religious rites. The first clipping of a 
child's hair was retained for religious purposes. 



70 



RANSOMED. 



A scalp had a double meaning: it indicated an 
act of supernatural power that had decreed the 
death of the man, and it served as tangible 
proof of the warrior's prowess over his 
enemies. 27 

While the Indians were taking locks of hair 
from the girls, White Crow, Whirling Thunder, 
and a few more Indians, had mounted their 
horses, and with their captives on ponies, all 
rode off at a gallop, keeping up a rapid speed 
during the rest of the day and far into the 
night, the Indians looking back frequently. 

No doubt White Crow feared that the Sacs 
might regret that they let the girls go, and 
would try to recapture them. It was about 
forty-seven miles to Portage, and until that 
place was reached the danger was great. The 
girls appreciated the danger; otherwise, they 
would have dropped off their ponies from sheer 
exhaustion. A ride of forty-seven miles on 
wabbly ponies ! 

Finally, they arrived on the bank of the Wis- 
consin Kiver near the mouth of Duck Creek 
(just below Portage, Wis.) where was located 
a village of Chief Dekorah. 28 

27 1, "Handbook of Am. Indians," 524. 
2S XIII. Wis. Hist. Co., 448; III. ib. 286; Waubun, 
Kinzie, 103. 



RANSOMED. 



71 



At this place the Indians prepared a bed 
upon a low scaffold, which was furnished with 
abundant blankets and furs, where the girls lay 
until daylight. The sun had not yet arisen 
when a party of Sac warriors, some of whom 
were dressed in the clothing of white men, came 
into camp. They wanted to talk to the girls, 
but Whirling Thunder told the girls not to 
listen to them and to keep away from them. 
Then a long conversation of loud angry words 
was kept up between the Indians for some time, 
when the Sacs mounted their horses and rode 
away. 

It was ascertained later that one of the In- 
dians who helped to capture the girls at Indian 
Creek was on a hunting trip when the captives 
were turned over to the Winnebagoes and on his 
return finding the prisoners gone and not hav- 
ing received his portion of the ransom, he 
started off with a number of warriors with the 
determination to recapture the girls or kill 
them. No doubt that if the Sacs had overtaken 
the Winnebagoes with their captives before they 
had reached the Winnebago camp, they would 
have fought for the girls, which would either 
have ended in the death of the girls or their 
being again carried off into captivity. Such 



72 



RANSOMED. 



was the Indian custom. 29 What an almost 
miraculous escape the girls had ! 

Immediately after the Sacs left, a hastened 
breakfast was prepared. No doubt White Crow 
feared an attack if lie should keep the girls at 
that place or if he should continue his journey 
along the Military Road. Whatever caused him 
to change his course, he arranged to take the 
girls down the Wisconsin River 30 and to send 
the horses around over the hills, on the west 
side of the river, to the next camping place. 

Breakfast was eaten as hastily as it had been 
prepared and then the girls were placed in 
canoes and with a convoy of about one hun- 
dred Indians, were paddled off. At first the girls 
feared that their little barks would tip. but 
soon they found their canoes were in expert 
and safe hands and that the new manner of 
travel was far superior to horse-back riding. 
It was restful and gave them a fine opportunity 
for observation, which under favorable circum- 
stances would drive an artist into ecstacy. The 
majestic bluffs with wooded slopes and craggy 
crests, lined the river for many miles, stretch- 
ing off to the west around Devil's Lake. It was 

29 2, Handbook of American Indians, 203. 
30 Memories of Shaubena, 160. 



RANSOMED. 



73 



ideal scenery and connected with many a 
romantic Indian tale. 

The spring freshets from the melting snows 
and heavy rains, had swollen the river so that 
it spread considerably over its banks, reaching 
in places from the foot of one bluff to the foot 
of another. Down this murky water the In- 
dians paddled their canoes, hour after hour, 
over a distance of about thirty miles, and 
landed on the west bank, where they camped 
for the night. 

In speaking of this canoe ride the girls say: 
"The name of the river we never knew, neither 
can we tell whether we traveled up or down 
the stream." The name of the river was learned 
from Shabona. It is not strange that the girls 
could not tell which way the river flowed. The 
writer has often been on that river during 
freshets, and the way the water flows back and 
forth, dotted with eddies, would easily confuse 
a stranger. 

Early the next morning White Crow went 
around to the wigwams with a gourd in each 
hand, and stopping at the door of each wigwam 
he would shake the gourd violently and talk as 
if he were lecturing. 

Having finished this religious service, he left 



RANSOMED. 



the camp and did not return again until sun- 
down. Probably, he crossed the river and went 
to his own village at the west end of Mendota 
Lake to get information concerning the ransom 
offered for the captives. He was a sly chief, 
and if he did not have considerable confidence 
in the success of his undertaking, instead of 
taking the girls across to Blue Mounds he might 
have them run further down the river and there 
hold them longer in captivity. 

The thirty-first day of May had arrived and 
for the second night the Indians camped on the 
west side of the "Wisconsin River. Before retir- 
ing, White Crow for the first time spoke to the 
girls in the English language. He inquired 
whether their father, mother, or any sister or 
brother, was alive, to which the girls replied 
that all had been killed on the day of their cap- 
tivity. White Crow appeared sad, shook his 
head, and after hesitating a moment, said he 
would take the girls home in the morning. He 
asked the girls if they thought the whites would 
hang him if he took them to the fort, to which 
they replied that on the contrary the people at 
the fort would give him money and presents for 
his trouble. 

The conversation with White Crow roused the 



76 



RANSOMED. 



hopes of the girls considerably, but a lingering 
doubt as to the truth of his words kept revolv- 
ing in their minds throughout the night. 

The next morning the chiefs accompanied 
by about forty warriors put the girls in canoes 
and swam their horses across the river alongside 
of the canoes, landing above the mouth of Black 
Earth Creek. The horses were mounted in 
haste, but as most of the warriors had to travel 
on foot and were impeded by marshes and 
underbrush on the flat bottom, the progress was 
slow. The girls watched the sun with eagerness 
in their endeavor to tell which way they were 
traveling and were assured thereby that they 
were again going southward, although only in 
a circuitous course. Hour after hour passed 
away, the girls all the while expecting to catch 
sight of the fort. Finally, as the sun was sink- 
ing off over the Wisconsin River, the Indians 
once more camped for the night on the bank of 
a creek. 

There were two or three Indian families 
camped at this place, and on seeing the girls 
they expressed great joy. In a short time the 
squaws had prepared a supper consisting of 
pickled pork, potatoes, coffee and bread for the 
girls, White Crow and Whirling Thunder, the 



RANSOMED. 



77 



rest of the Indians dining apart from them. 
The meal was the best cooked and the spread 
the cleanest that had been placed before the 
girls, and it tempted their appetite so that they 
made a very fair meal, after which they felt 
sleepy and were glad when they could lie down 
to rest. In a short time most of the Indians had 
retired, excepting White Crow, who seated him- 
self close to the girls, where he smoked a pipe 
all night. This was the first time that a war- 
rior had kept guard over them, and the infer- 
ence of the girls was that the old chief feared 
an attack of the Sacs who had visited their 
camp at Portage. The girls thought that per- 
haps the Indian chief who had been rebuffed at 
that place might have gone after recruits, and 
that at any moment the Indians might swoop 
down upon them. Now, when they were almost 
within grasp of their freedom, it racked the 
minds of the girls to think that there was a 
possibility of being slaughtered or again carried 
into captivity. In this condition of mind the 
girls passed the night. 

The camp was astir at sunrise and for the 
last time White Crow went around performing 
his religious service by rattling his gourds and 
addressing the Indians. After breakfast the 



IS 



RANSOMED. 



girls were again mounted on their ponies and 
all moved forward over higher ground, and be- 
fore ten o'clock they had reached the Military 
Road from Fort Winnebago, by way of Blue 
Mounds, to Prairie du Chien. The sight of the 
wagon tracks was the first sign of civilization 
that the girls had observed since their captivity 
and increased their confidence in the probability 
of their early release. Also, the road was much 
better than any they had traveled since their 
capture. It led through groves and oak open- 
ings, along the high ridge that is unbroken to 
the Mississippi River. Inspirations of hope were 
necessary to revive the girls' spirits and enable 
them to complete the remainder of their long 
journey, as they were exhausted to the verge of 
collapse. Hope is a great stimulant, and it was 
on this that the girls were now subsisting. 

''Auspicious Hope! in thy sweet garden grow 
Wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe." 

About two o'clock in the afternoon the In- 
dians halted for lunch and to let their horses 
feed. The principal food was duck eggs, nearly 
hatched, that the Indians ate with relish, but 
which the girls rejected with disgust, After 
lunch they had not traveled far until they 



RANSOMED. 



79 



caught sight of Blue Mounds Fort in the dis- 
tance. White Crow took a white handkerchief 
that Rachel had tied on her head, which he 
fastened on a pole for a flag of truce, and rode 
in advance of the Indians and their captives. In 
a short time Lieutenant Edward Beouchard, 
who was commander at the fort, met them and 
addressed the Indians in their own language. 
The warriors now formed a circle into which 
Beouchard rode and he and the Indians talked 
at considerable length. According to Beouch- 
ard ? s subsequent statement the Indians were 
unwilling to give up the girls until they were 
assured by Col. Gratiot that the $2,000 reward 
would be paid. Beouchard having assured the 
girls that they would be well treated by the 
Indians until his return, went back to the fort 
and soon returned with Col. Henry Gratiot, the 
Indian agent, and a company of soldiers in 
which Edward and Reason Ball, uncles of the 
captives, were serving as privates. 

Col. Gratiot assured the Indians that the re- 
ward for the rescue of the girls would be paid. 
Also, he invited the Indians to be his guests at 
the fort, and that he would prepare a big feast 
for them. The Indians being very hungry the 
feast appealed very strongly to them. Finally, 



80 



RANSOMED. 



the chiefs agreed to place the girls in the cus- 
tody of Col. Gftatiot until the reward would be 
paid, the Indians retaining the right to the re- 
turn of the captives if the government failed to 
pay. 

The calico dresses which the girls had re- 
ceived from the Indians, had become torn by 
riding through brake, briars and brush, and 
with their soiled faces and disheveled hair, made 
them objects of pity. 31 In a sense, the girls 
bearing their crosses, had followed their Master 
up Calvary to its summit, where He granted 
their prayer by setting them free. 

31 3, Smith's Hist, of Wis., 214, 225. 



CHAPTER XI. 

ROYALLY WELCOMED. 

Following close behind the soldiers that went 
out with Ool. Gratiot to meet the Indians with 
the girls, were the ladies of the Fort, including 
the wives of the commanding officers, and al- 
though the Indians had delivered the girls into 
the custody of Col. Gratiot, the ladies imme- 
diately took charge of them, and after kissing 
and hugging them affectionately, conducted 
them to the Fort, where the girls were fur- 
nished with new clothes and the best meal that 
the place could produce. After dining the girls 
became sleepy and retired to rest, feeling per- 
fectly secure. 

"Sleep! to the homeless thou are home; 
The friendless find in thee a friend ; 
And well is, wheresoe'er he roam, 
Who meets thee at his journey's end." 

A messenger who had been dispatched for 
Col. Dodge, met him on his way to the Mounds 
in company with C'apt. Bion Gratiot, a brother 
of Col. Henry Gratiot. On his arrival Col. 
Dodge immediately assumed general command 
of the place. He invited the Indian chiefs, 
White Crow, Whirling Thunder and Spotted 

[81] 



82 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



Arm, into the Fort, and fed them sumptuously. 
Ebenezer Brigham who lived at the east end of 
the Mounds contributed a big fat steer for the 
feast. After the feast, lodgings for the Indians 
were prepared, beds for the chiefs having been 
provided in one of the cottages. Having every- 
thing comfortably arranged, the Colonel retired 
and was soon fast asleep. 

About an hour after Col. Dodge had gone to 
bed, Capt. Gratiot came rushing to his cabin in 
an excited manner, calling to him to rouse up 
and prepare for action immediately. He in- 
formed the Colonel that the Indian chiefs whom 
the Colonel had placed in the cottage, had gone 
out to some brush near by and apparently were 
inciting the Indians to make an attack upon the 
Fort. White Crow had come to the Captain and 
after telling him that the whites were a soft- 
shelled breed and no good to fight (referring to 
Stillman's defeat), he closed by advising the 
Captain to tell his brother, Col. Gratiot, the In- 
dians' friend, to go home and not stay at the 
fort. Also, Capt. Gratiot had observed the men 
whetting their knives, tomahawks and spears, 
and it was learned that two of the warriors had 
been sent to the Winnebago camp early in the 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



83 



evening, probably to obtain more Indians to 
attack the Fort. 

Col. Dodge, after listening attentively to the 
story of Capt. Gratiot, replied: "Do not be 
alarmed, sir; I will see that no harm befalls 
you." 

Col. Dodge then called the officer of the 
guard and an interpreter and with six other 
men went out to where the Indians were and 
took into custody White Crow and five of the 
other principal chiefs, and marched them into 
a cabin inside the palisade to secure obedience 
to his command. Then after directing the 
proper officer to place a strong guard around 
the cabin and double the guard around the 
whole encampment, the Colonel lay down with 
the Indians. To carry out the Colonel's orders 
took all the men at the Fort, so that virtually 
the whole force was under arms during the 
night. 32 Once more the girls' lives were in 
jeopardy. 

The night passed without another incident 
and when the sun arose over the great plains to 
the east, the girls were up and relished a good 
breakfast with their friends that awaited them. 



n2 X. Wis, Hist. Col., 186. 



84 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



Col. Dodge was out before the girls and he told 
the Indians that they must all go to Morrison's 
Grove, a place where the road to Galena 
branches off the Military Road to Prairie du 
Chien, about fifteen miles west of Blue Mounds. 
The Indians — White Crow particularly — pro- 
tested against going, stating that their feet 
were sore from their long march in bringing the 
Hall girls to the Mounds, and that they had 
shown such great magnanimity in risking their 
lives to ransom the prisoners that they should 
receive their reward and be allowed to return 
home. Col. Dodge frankly told them that he 
believed that they were in sympathy with Black 
Hawk and that he should be obliged to treat 
them as suspects. In vain did "White Crow use 
his eloquence in protesting his friendship for 
the whites, and after all was in readiness the 
Indians and soldiers accompanied by the Hall 
girls started on their march to Morrison's 
Grove, where they arrived before noon. Here 
George Medary kept a hotel in a large house 
built by the Morrison brothers of hewn logs, ad- 
joining a cultivated field, one of the first in the 
state. 33 

The ladies looked after the comfort of the 



33 XIII. Wis. Hist. Col, 341; "Waubun," 111. 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



85 



girls, whom they welcomed with much exhibi- 
tion of joy and affection, and Col. Dodge, after 
having the Indians well fed, ordered the chiefs 
to line them up until he could talk to them. 

First Col. Dodge explained the alarming sit- 
uation surrounding the white settlers, and the 
information that he had that the Winnebagoes 
were hesitating to join Black Hawk, and warned 
them of their destruction if they should take 
part in the war against the whites. Next Col. 
Gratiot spoke to the Indians in their own 
tongue, in a kindly manner, and after he had 
finished White Crow made the following speech : 
"Fathers, when you sent a request to me to go 
and to ransom those two white women, we 
called on all of our people who were around us 
and they gave all of their wampum, trinkets 
and corn, and we the chiefs gave ten horses. 
The Little Priest, I, and two others, went to the 
Sauks to buy the prisoners. We soon succeeded 
in buying one, but for a time could not succeed 
in buying the other. After we had bought one, 
we demanded the other. They said, 4 No, we 
will not give her up. We have lost too much 
blood. We will keep her.' 

"We told them: 'If you don't give her up, 
we will raise the tomahawk and take her.* I 



86 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



had a horse which you, father (Gratiot), gave 
me. It was the last horse that I had. I told 
them that I would give them that horse to ob- 
tain the prisoner. At sundown they gave me 
the girls and I gave them the horse. The Little 
Priest took one of the girls and I took the other 
and put them on horses. A Sauk came, as we 
were about to start, and attempted to cut off the 
hair of one of the girls. I caught his hand and 
prevented him, but allowed him afterwards to 
cut a small lock. These white sisters were very 
much affected and my young daughter cried to 
see these white sisters so distressed. Our women 
bought clothes from the Sauks and gave them. 
These sisters will tell you that we made them 
sleep together, and the daughter of the Little 
Priest slept on one side of them and my daugh- 
ter on the other side. We were mortified that 
we could not use them better. Our blankets 
are worn out and we could do no better. I 
tried to please and comfort them, but they were 
not accustomed to our mode of living and could 
not eat. 

"Here are our two sisters, we bring them here 
to take their hands and give them into your 
hands. We have saved their lives, for the 
Sauks intended to kill them. 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



87 



"And now, fathers, all that we have to ask 
of you is that you will not put us or our chil- 
dren in the same situation that these white 
sisters were. We have brought them to you to 
prove to you that we are the friends of the 
Americans." 34 

After listening to White Crow, Col. Dodge 
informed him that he would hold as hostages 
for the good conduct of the Winnebago Indians, 
their chiefs Spotted Arm, Whirling Thunder 
and Little Priest, to which the wiley chief made 
little objection, as he was trying to obtain as 
much goods as possible in final settlement of the 
reward, which was paid mostly in trinkets, 
blankets and horses. 

Having been well fed and supplied with 
shawls and blankets of brilliant colors, child- 
like, the Indians were now anxious to go home. 

White Crow, with a showing of much regret, 
bade good-bye to Sylvia and Rachel Hall. He 
went over the incidents of their rescue, and, to 
prove his friendship for the girls, offered to 
give each of them a Sac squaw as a servant for 
life. The girls thanked him, but said that they 
did not want any human being to be taken away 
from her people as they had been from theirs, 

84 Report of Col. Gratiot in U, S, files, 



ss 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



The girls then bade adieu to all the Indians, 
towards whom their hearts had changed, and 
for whom they now felt considerable friendship. 
The eloquence of White Crow made an impres- 
sion on the young women, as he spoke in a sym- 
pathetic tone unexpected kind words that 
touched their hearts. 

After resting at Morrison's during the after- 
noon and night, early the next morning the sol- 
diers with their Indian hostages and the girls, 
proceeded along the Galena road to Fort De- 
fiance, which was located five miles southeast 
of Mineral Point. Here again the girls were 
well cared for by the wives of the officers, and 
the most sumptuous meal that could be pre- 
pared was set before them, and their short stay 
made as pleasant as possible. 35 

After dinner, with the convoy of soldiers and 
the Indian hostages, the girls again moved on 
to Gratiot's Grove, about a mile south of Shulls- 
burg, and fourteen miles northeast of Galena. 
At this place there was a village of twenty fam- 
ilies, with a hotel and a garrison of United 
States soldiers. 36 The leading lady of the place 
was Capt. Gratiot's wife, a French woman of 
excellent education, whose mother had been 

B5 X. Wis. Hist., Col., 340. 



ROYALLY WELCOMED. 



89 



lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette. 
Mrs. Gratiot, who was noted for her hospitality, 
took charge of the girls and entertained them 
lavishly at her home. 37 

Gratiot's Grove, which became renowned as 
the most beautiful spot in the northwest, is 
described by Mrs. Gratiot as follows: "Never 
in my wanderings had I beheld a prettier place ; 
the beautiful rolling hills extending to Blue 
Mounds, a distance of thirty miles, the magnifi- 
cent grove, as yet untouched by the falling axe, 
formed the graceful frame for the lovely land- 
scape. " 38 Theodore Rudolph, a Swiss traveler 
who was at Gratiot's Grove in the spring of 
1832, describing the place says: "The vast 
prairie, as far as the eye could reach, was 
clothed with a carpet of richest green, inter- 
spersed with gorgeous wild flowers, of brilliant 
hues of red, blue, and yellow, in fact every color 
of the rainbow — reminding one of the garden 
of Eden, as our youthful fancies never failed to 
paint it for us." 39 

36 X. Wis. Hist. Col., 256. 
a7 X. Wis. Hist. Cbl., 186, 246. 
38 X. Wis. Hist. Col., 286. 
S0 XV. Wis. Hist. Col., 345. 



CHAPTER XII. 

HOMEWARD BOUXD. 

"Oh! sweet is the longed-for haven of rest! 
And dear are the loved ones we oft have caressed! 
And fair are the home scenes that gladden the 
view — 

The far-wooded hills stretching up to the blue, 
The lake's limpid splendor, the circling shore, 

The fell and the forest, the mead and the moor, 
Are clustered with mem'ries and, though we may 
roam, 

Their charm ever guides us and whispers of home!" 

— Anna C. Scanlan. 

The thought of returning to their home filled 
the girls' hearts with such joy as was possible 
under their circumstances. When they arose on 
the morning of their departure from Gratiot's 
Grove, everything was inspiring. Never before 
had the birds sung more sweetly nor had the 
flowers looked more beautiful. The whole vil- 
lage was astir early, and probably there was 
not one of the inhabitants who failed to appear 
to bid the girls good-bye. 

Capt. Gratiot's wife made the girls some nice 
presents and had so endeared herself to them 
that although they had known her but a very 
short time, they left her with tears, and in tears. 

Finally, all being ready, with a convoy of sol- 
diers the girls continued their journey to White 

[90] 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



91 



Oak Springs (10 miles northeast of Galena), 
near which they formerly lived and where they 
had many friends. It was then a mining village 
of considerable size, but not so charming as 
Gratiot's Grove. There was a fort with sol- 
diers at the place, and all was in readiness to 
receive the girls. As some of their relatives 
lived near the place, going there seemed to them 
like going home. 

One of the first surprises that the girls had, 
was to meet their brother John who they 
thought had been murdered at Indian Creek. 
He had been mustered into the militia and was 
stationed at Galena, but was granted indefinite 
absence to go to meet his sisters and accompany 
them home. 

At White Oak Springs they received a letter 
from their former pastor, Rev. R. Horn, who 
had a mission on the Illinois River where Robert 
Scott, an uncle of the girls, lived. The letter 
was full of kindness and invited the girls to 
come to the Horn residence and make it their 
home. From that time on, all arrangements 
were made to that end. 

On the night of June sixteenth, great excite- 
ment was caused by a messenger riding into 
the town and announcing that the battle of the 



92 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



Peckatonica (18 miles northeast) had been 
fought, that all the Indians that participated 
in it had been killed, and that many of the 
whites had fallen. The shocking particulars, 
which were loathing to the girls, were told and 
retold. They had seen human blood spilled and 
they knew what such a sight meant, so it simply 
renewed their horror. 

The girls remained at White Oak Springs two 
weeks, during which their lady friends made 
considerable clothing for them so that they had 
a well-supplied wardrobe, considering the time 
and the border country. The men were not 
backward in the good work and presents of 
goods were given by the store-keepers and a 
small purse raised to help to smooth their way. 

Also, old acquaintances were renewed and 
new friendships were formed from which it 
was hard to break away when it came time to 
leave. From gruff old miners up to the army 
officer in his shoulder-straps, the village folk 
gathered around the young ladies to wish them 
God-speed. 

The girls shook hands with everybody and 
thanked them, individually and collectively, for 
their great kindness. In the last written state- 
ment signed by Rachel Hall Munson and Sylvia 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



93 



Hall Horn, they say: "We are very sorry we 
cannot recollect the names of those kind friends, 
that they might appear upon record as a tes- 
timony of their kindness to us in our destitute 
condition. May the blessings of our Father in 
heaven, rest upon them all ! ' ' 

From White Oak Springs the girls went on 
to Galena, where they stopped with an old ac- 
quaintance named Bell and were supplied with 
rations by the United States' army officers who 
considered the girls their guests. 

They had not been there many days before 
the steamboat "Winnebago" called for a load 
of lead to take to St. Louis. The girls with 
their brother John and their uncle Edward 
Hall took passage down the Mississippi to St. 
Louis where they arrived June 30, and were re- 
ceived by Gov. Clark who took them to his 
home and entertained them as his guests. 40 

Unfortunately, at that time the cholera was 
in the city and meetings of people, public dem- 
onstrations, and entertainments, were restrict- 
ed. While the girls did not feel like attending 
entertainments or going in society, the people 
of St. Louis were anxious to entertain them. 

"Letter of Governor Clark to Secretary of War, 
June 30, 1832; "Life of A. S. Johnston," Johnston, 23. 



94 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



A purse of $470.00 was collected, and, at the 
request of the girls, was put into the hands of 
Mr. Horn for investment. Other small sums of 
money were given to the girls to pay their in- 
cidental expenses, and articles for their com- 
fort were presented to them. 

The girls were anxious to go home, and in 
company with their brother John and Uncle 
Edward they boarded the steamer "Carolina" 
for Beardstown, 111., from where they were 
taken to the home of their uncle Robert Scott, 
close to Mr. Horn's. Here they remained until 
Pall, when they went to the home of their 
brother John who had recently married and 
settled on a homestead in Bureau County, about 
twenty miles west of the Davis Settlement. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 

At a little country store down in Indiana 
where the settlers usually gathered to read the 
weekly newspaper, William Munson, a young 
man who was born in New York, first heard of 
the Hall girls and their wonderful adventure. 
He was in the west seeking his fortune, and, 
being an admirer of the brave and full of youth- 
ful fire, he remarked to the people that he 
would some day marry one of those girls. His 
nearest friends did not take him seriously, and 
the matter as a passing joke was soon forgot- 
ten. However, with him it became a fixed idea, 
and in the spring of 1833 he went to Illinois and 
took up a land claim in the neighborhood where 
John W. Hall lived. 

Every good woman is not satisfied until she 
has a home of her own. This natural longing 
was particularly strong in the minds of the 
Hall girls, whose home had been destroyed. 

There is no record of how William Munson 
first met Rachel Hall, but our information shows 
that their courtship was short; for in March, 
1833, they were united in marriage, and shortly 
afterwards they settled down on the land claim 
entered by her father, about a mile and a half 

[95] 



96 



ROMANCE AXD HISTORY. 




WILLIAM MUX SOX. 



east of the scene of the massacre. They were 
thrifty and got along splendidly, becoming one 
of the foremost families of La Salle County. 
Besides the rich abundance of worldly goods, 
they were blessed with a large family of whom 
four died in their infancy. As there was no 
cemetery, the little ones were buried in the 
garden. Of the other children who grew up to 
manhood and womanhood, several became very 
prominent and their generations became numer- 
ous. Their four daughters were married as 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 97 




MRS. RACHEL HALL MUNSON, AGED 42, AND YOUNGEST 
SON ELLIOT. 



follows : Irma, to Dr. George Vance, who moved 
to California; A. Miranda, to Samuel Dunavan, 
who settled on a farm just north of the Munson 
homestead, where she still lives; Fidelia, to 
George Shaver, and Phoebe B., to John F. Reed, 



98 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



of Ottawa. Mr. Reed's daughter Fannie mar- 
ried James H. Eekles who was United States 
Treasurer under Cleveland. Mrs. Eekles' 
daughter Winnie is married to Judge Kenesaw 
Mountain Landis, of Chicago. William Munson, 
Jr., married Delia Shaver, and the other surviv- 
ing sons, Louis and Elliot, never married. 

Edward Vance, a grand-son of Mrs. Munson, 
is a well-known lawyer in South Dakota, and 
Douglas Dunavan is a prominent lawyer at Ot- 
tawa, Illinois. We shall not attempt to give 
sketches of the various descendents of Mrs. 
Munson, as it would expand too much the limits 
of this volume. 

The shock of the massacre and consequent 
captivity impaired the splendid constitution of 
Mrs. Munson, who thereafter suffered from ner- 
vousness; but through the earlier part of her 
life, she manifested unusual vigor. As Mrs. 
Munson passed middle life she failed rapidly, 
and on May 1, 1870, she closed her earthly 
career and was laid to rest in the garden beside 
her infant children who had gone before her, 
and when Mr. Munson died he was interred be- 
side his faithful wife. Their graves are about 
one and one-half miles east of Shabona Park, 
on the original Hall homestead. 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



99 




BURIAL PLACE OF RACHEL AND HUSBAND. 



Incidentally, we noted the fact that for a 
short spell the Hall girls made their home at 
the residence of Rev. Robert Horn. He had a 
young son, William S., who was studying for 
the ministry, and as both belonged to the same 
church (M. E. Episcopal) and were born in 
Kentucky, we cannot say that the unexpected 
happened. He was one year younger than Syl- 
via. The love story of these young people 
would gratify any novel writer. When Sylvia 



100 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



left with her sister to make her home with her 
brother John, she and Mr. Horn looked upon 
each other with great affection. The marriage 
of Rachel emphasized the yearnings of Sylvia 
for her own home, and May 5, 1833, she was 
married to Mr. Horn and settled in Cass County, 
Illinois. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Horn, 
eleven children. Mr. Horn's vocation called 
him from one place to another. Having served 
in the ministry in Illinois, he first went to Mis- 
souri, thence to Peru, Nebraska, next to a par- 
ish near Lincoln, and finally settled down at 
Auburn, Nemaha County, Nebraska, where he 
died May 8, 1888, leaving him surviving, his 
widow, Mrs. Sylvia Hall Horn, and several 
children and grand-children. 

Mr. Horn became an elder of the M. E. Epis- 
copal church, and held several high church of- 
fices. Elder Horn was noted for his intense 
religious zeal, and, figuratively speaking, he 
died in the harness of exhaustion and old age. 
He was buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery, Peru, 
Nebraska. 

After the death of Elder Horn, Mrs. Sylvia 
Hall Horn made her home with her son, Thomas 
S. Horn, in Auburn, Nebraska, where she died 
January 11, 1899, aged 85 years, 10 months and 




MRS SYLVIA HALL HORN AND ELDER HORN. 



102 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



16 days. Mrs. Horn was buried beside her hus- 
band with whom she had happily lived for 55 
years. She left surviving her a host of de- 
scendants. 

In the fall of 1867, John W. Hall, Mrs. Mun- 
son, and her husband, made a visit to Elder 
Horn's, Auburn, Nebraska, during which Mr. 
Hall and his sisters narrated the incidents of 
the massacre and captivity, which were reduced 
to writing by the Elder and published. The 
manuscripts are now in the custody of Mrs. 
Eckels of Chicago. In his statement Mr. Hall 
says: " After thirty-five years of toil have 
pased over my head since the memorable occa- 
sion, my memory is in some things rather dim." 
Mrs. Munson and Mrs. Horn close their recital 
as follows: "Thus we have given the circum- 
stances of our captivity and the rescue as nearly 
as we can recollect at this date, September 7, 
1867." The former published statements of 
the ladies substantially agree with this last 
one. All their statements and public interviews 
have been freely used and completely worked 
into this narrative. 41 

In 1833 the state of Illinois donated to Mrs. 

41 3 Smith's "History of Wisconsin" (1854), 187; 
"The Black Hawk War" (Stevens), 150. 



P g 
is 'O ^ 

p ° 6 
£ p fcc 



03 



'S5 



^ 5 



a If 

M P 



<3J 



P 
1 

O <M* 



104 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



Munson and Mrs. Horn, 160 acres of land that 
the United States had given to the state to- 
wards the construction of the canal between 
Chicago and Ottawa. At that time the land 
was not valuable, and netted but a small sum 
to the ladies. Now that land is within the city 
of Joliet and is worth considerable money. 

It has been asserted — and published in books, 
that Congress voted gifts of money to the girls ; 
but in answer to an inquiry made at the United 
States Treasury, the author was informed that 
no such appropriation has ever been made, and 
Mrs. Dunavan says that she never knew of her 
mother's receiving any money from the govern- 
ment. 

In 1837 Mr. Munson erected a very handsome 
monument on the spot where his wife's parents 
and the others who died with them were buried. 
It is a graceful shaft. 

In 1905, through the efforts of friends of the 
persons who were massacred at Indian Creek 
on May 21st, 1832, the Illinois legislature ap- 
propriated the sum of five thousand dollars to 
place a monument at the grave where the vic- 
tims were buried. 42 On August 29, 1906, the 

42 Laws of Illinois, 1905, p. 42. 



ROMANCE AND HISTORY. 



105 



new monument was dedicated with much cere- 
mony, music and orations. Among the speakers 
were the venerable Hon. John W. Henderson 
and his brother, Gen. T. J. Henderson, who 
were boys at the time that the massacre oc- 
curred, the former being one of the persons 
who were planting corn south of the Davis cot- 
tage on that day, and who with John W. Hall 
escaped to Ottawa. 

A full account of the dedication will be found 
in the newspapers and in the records of the 
Illinois Historical Society. 43 

""Ottawa Journal/' August 30, 1906; "Bureau 
County Republican," August 30, 1906; XII., "Trans- 
actions of the Illinois State Historical Society," p. 
339. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SHABONA* 

The story of the Hall girls ' adventures would 
not be properly finished without some further 
mention of Chief Shabona. ProDaoly no other 
Indian in the West knew more white people, 
individually, than he knew ; also, he was known 
at sight to more white people than was any 
other chief of his time. His name was so famil- 
iar among the whites, that its mere mention was 
a safe passport to any home of the settlers. 

♦This chief's name is spelled in many different 
ways, to- wit: "Sha-bom-ri," in Smith's History of 
Wisconsin; "Shah-bee-nay," by Mrs. Kinzie in Wau- 
Bun; "Shaubena," by Matson; "Shau-be-nee," by 
Kingston; "Chab-on-eh," "Shab-eh-ney," "Shabonee," 
and "Shaubena," in the Appleton's Encyclopedia of 
American Biograpihies, and on his tombstone his 
name is spelled "Shabona". In Illinois, places named 
after him are spelled Stoabbona and Shabonier, the 
latter being the French spelling. As Mr. Smith, Mrs. 
Kinzie, Mr. Matson, and Mr. Kingston, knew Sha- 
bona well, the weight of evidence seems to be in 
favor of spelling his name Shaubena, which is in 
accordance with the spelling of Indian words. The 
second b is not heard in the usual pronounciation of 
"Shabbona" (Shab'-eh-ney), and it causes strangers 
to mispronounce the name. Even the word "Sac", 
is usually pronounced Sauk, and is generally spelled 
Sauk. Very many Indian names have the diphthong 
au as shown by names of rivers and places. Conse- 
quently, it would seem that the first syllable should 
be spelled S-h-a-u-b. 

[106] 



SHABONA. 



107 



Shabona was well aware of that fact and he 
always introduced himself as "Mr. Shabona." 

Baldwin says that Shabona was born in 
Canada ; but Matson asserts that he was born on 
the Kankakee in Will County, Illinois ; and the 
"Handbook of American Indians" gives Mau- 
mee River, Illinois, as his birthplace. This con- 
tention of many countries as the place of Sha- 
bona 's birth, proves the greatness of the man. 
Argos, Rhodes, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, and 
several other cities, claim to be the birthplace 
of Homer; and Scotland, England, Wales, and 
Britany, of St. Patrick. Authors agree that 
Shabona was born in 1775 and dwelt at Sha- 
bona's Grove for fifty years. He was a grand- 
nephew of Pontiac and his father who was an 
Ottawa chief, fought under Pontiac. Shabona 
was six feet tall, erect, and weighed over two 
hundred pounds. 

During the wars of 1812, 1827 and 1832, 
Shabona rendered great services to the white 
people by saving the lives of many of them who 
were taken captives by the Indians, and by pro- 
tecting the home of John Kinzie and his friends 
during the Chicago massacre. However, with 
his tribe he joined in the border war against 
the whites and fought beside Teeumseh when 



108 



SHABONA. 



he fell at the battle of the Thames. That was 
the last time that Shabona raised a hand against 
the white people. 

When Col. Richard M. Johnson, who com- 
manded the American army at the Thames be- 
came vice-president of the United States, Sha- 
bona made a visit to him at Washington. The 
vice-president gave Shabona a heavy gold ring, 
which he wore until his death and at his request 
it was buried with him. 

On account of Shabona 's great services to the 
white people, the state of Illinois gave him two 
and one-half sections of land at the site of his 
Pa/w-Paw Village. In 1837 the last of Sha- 
bona 's tribe having been moved to a Kansas 
reservation, he followed them with his family 
consisting of twenty-seven persons, including 
his son Pypagee and nephew Pyps who were 
soon thereafter slain by the Sacs for the parts 
that they played in notifying the whites to flee 
to Ottawa, before the massacre at Indian Creek. 
Shabona was warned that the Sacs were schem- 
ing to assassinate him, because of his efforts to 
save the whites, and in 1855 he returned to 
Illinois. 

Before Shabona left Illinois for Kansas, he 
placed his lands in the hands of an agent named 



SHABONA. 



109 



Norton to collect the rents, pay the taxes and 
to look after them generally. Unconscionable 
settlers squatted on Shabona 's lands and filed 
in the government land office, affidavits that 
Shabona had abandoned the lands, and on that 
proof and some technicalities the lands were 
again sold as public lands, and on Shabona's 
return he found his domain in the possession 
of the squatters who claimed to be the owners. 
Shabona could not help feeling that he had been 
cheated by the whites, after all he had done for 
them, and the old man sat on a log near where 
his village had formerly stood and wept 
bitterly. 

"And man, whose heaven-erected face 
The smiles of love adorn, 
Man's inhumanity to man 
Makes countless thousands mourn!" 

Shortly after his return, as Shabona was cut- 
ting a few poles to erect a tent on the margin 
of the grove that bore his name, a settler at- 
tacked him and forcibly drove him off the land, 
and shamefully abused the old man. Then for 
some time homeless, he wandered about from 
place to place, the few remaining whites whom 
he had befriended, always giving him a warm 
welcome. The old warrior's plight aroused the 



110 



SHABONA. 



dormant gratitude of a few whites who raised 
a fund with which they bought for him at Sen- 
eca, on Mazon Creek, near the Illinois River, 
twenty acres of land which they cultivated and 
erected a dwelling-house thereon. Because of 
his natural desire to live out-doors, Shabona 
lived in a tent nearby and used the cottage foi 
storage purposes. Through the efforts of his 
friends, the government granted him a pension 
of two hundred dollars a year, on which he sub- 
sisted until he died in 1859, at the age of eighty- 
four years, and was buried in Evergreen Ceme- 
tery, at Morris, Illinois. 44 

When Shabona was dying, he said: "I want 
no monument erected to my memory; my life 
has been mark enough for me." However, his 
friends erected at his grave a granite boulder 
five feet long by three feet high, which bears 
only this simple inscription: "Shabona, 1775- 
1859. " 45 

44 7, Wis. Hist. Col., 415-421; History of La Salle 
County, Balwin, 110. 
* 5 "Evef green Cemetery" (printed pamphlet), p. 4. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CO-MEB AND TO-QUA-MEE. 

Some of our readers may ask, Was anyone 
prosecuted for the massacre at Indian Creek? 
Oh, yes ! Co-mee and To-qua-mee who had tried 
to buy Rachel and Sylvia Hall from their father, 
as related in Chapter III., were, in the spring 
of 1833, at Ottawa, Illinois, indicted by a grand 
jury, and a warrant issued and placed in the 
hands of Sheriff George E. Walker who had 
been an Indian trader and spoke the Pottawat- 
omie language, to make the arrests. The In- 
dians had gone to Iowa with Black Hawk and 
had become members of his tribe. 

Alone, Sheriff Walker went to the Sac reser- 
vation and placed the Indians under arrest. 
The two Indians made no resistance, but un- 
shackled accompanied the sheriff to Ottawa. 
They were allowed to go on a bond signed by 
themselves, Shabona, and several other In- 
dians, upon their promises upon their honor to 
return for trial. 

When the time for the trial arrived the In- 
dians were on hand, although they had told 
their friends that they expected to be executed. 
Many of the friends of the people who had been 
[ml 



112 



CQ-MEE AND TO-QUA-MEE. 



massacred, armed and threatening to shoot the 
prisoners, if they should be liberated, attended 
the trial. There was no jail in Ottawa at the 
time, so the trial was held under a great tree 
on the bank of the Illinois. All through the 
trial the sheriff with a posse of armed men, 
guarded the Indians. 

Mrs. Munson and Mrs. Horn, the principal 
witnesses, could not positively identify either 
of the Indians, and as the Indians had volun- 
tarily stood their trial when they might have 
escaped, the jury acquitted them. When the 
trial was over the Indians' friends gave them a 
banquet at Buffalo Rock (six miles down the 
Illinois), to which the sheriff and several other 
prominent men of the time were invited. A 
fat deer and choice game were parts of the 
menu, and a great red-white pow-wow was a 
part of the celebration. 

It is said that subsequently when To-qua-mee 
and Co-mee were drinking with their friends, 
they admitted that they were present at the 
massacre, and that they took part in it only 
because they were angered at Davis for build- 
ing the dam across Indian Creek. Also, they 
stated that it was through their influence that 
the lives of the Hall girls were spared, which 



CO-MEE AND TO-QUA-MEE. 



113 



was an express condition upon which they in- 
sisted before they would take part in the mas- 
sacre. However, Black Hawk in his autobiog- 
raphy states that it was the Sac Indians who 
saved the lives of the girls ; and White Crow in 
his speech at Morrison 's, said that the Sacs in- 
tended to kill the girls and that the Winneba- 
goes saved their lives. 46 

46 XI. Transactions of Illinois Historical Society, 
1906, p. 313; Memories of Shabona, 165-168; Black 
Hawk's Autobiography, 111; Ante, p. 83. 



INDEX 



A. PAGE 

A-doptiou of Captives by 

chiefs 61 

Agriculture aud civiliza- 
tion 25 

Atkinson, Gen. at Ottawa 51 

letter to Col. Gratiot.. 56 

offers reward 54 

Auburn, w here Elder 

Horn died 100 

B. 

Battle of "Stillnian's 

Run" 20 

The Pecatonica 92 

Beloit, Turtle village... 55 
Beouchard, Lieut. Ed- 
ward 55 

meeting captives 79 

Big Fox, camp near 63 

Black Earth Creek, camp 

on 76 

Black Hawk War 17 

Black Hawk, born at 

Rock Island 18 

council of 18 

fought with English, 

1812 18 

grief of 19 

love of country 18 

ordered to move to 

Iowa 18 

return tn Illinois 18 

speech of 18 

second council of 20 

Black Hawk's Grove, ar- 
rival at 45 

Blnck Hawk "Lookout", 

camp near 75 

Black Hawk, picture of 

as a warrior 17 

picture of as civilian.. 21 

Black Hawk's village... 26 
Blacks m i t h, important 

settler 25 

[114] 



PAGE 



Blockhouses, building of 54 
Brigham, Ebenezer, In- 
dian feast 82 

Buckwheat as first crop. 25 

Buffalo, herds of 12 

"Burnt City", near Ft. 

Atkinson, Wis 61 

C. 

Camp on Wisconsin 

river 74 

Black Hawk's Grove 45, 59 
Black Hawk's "Look- 
out", camp near.... 75 

Cold Spring 61 

Horicon Lake 63 

Portage, camp near... 70 
Canada, Indian voyages 

to 26 

Canoes, where srirls en- 
tered 68 

Captives, Indians kill 

when attacked 71 

Captivity of Hall girls.. 38 
"Carolina", St. Louis to 

Beardstown 94 

Chickens, prairie 12 

Chippewas, Indians 16 

Cholera at St. Louis 93 

Civilization, marri age 

and agriculture 25 

Clark, Gov., of Missouri. 93 
Clothes, Indians furnish 

Hall girls 62 

Cold Spring, camping at 61 
Comb, Rachel's thrown 

away 62 

Co-mee. tried to buy 

wife 23 

arrest of for murder.. Ill 

acquittal 112 

alleged confession of 

murder 113 

Country, description of. 9 



INDEX 



115 



D. PAGE 

Dam across Indian Creek 29 

Indians object to 29 

Indian tears o u tl e t 

through 29 

Dancing of Indians 41, 59, 64 

Davis City, dream of 28 

Davis, Jefferson 9 

Davis Settlement 23 

Davis, Alex., escape of.. 32 

Davis, William, sketch of 25 

children of murdered. 35 

murdered by Indians.. 35 

powerful and brave. . . 28 
whipped Indian with 

stick 20 

Davis, Wm., Jr., escape 

of 35 

Dedication of State Mon- 
ument 105 

Deer, herds of 12 

Description of country- • 9 

Dixon, center of trails . . 13 

Dodge, Col., raises troops 54 

address to Indians.... 85 
command at Blue 

Mounds 81 

takes hostages 87 

Drunkenness in Militia.. 52 

"Dry Year", the 31 

Dunavan, Mrs. A. Mi 

randa 6, 97, 103 

information given by.. 6 
Dunavan. Samuel, mar- 
ried Miss Munson... 97 
picture of 103 

E. 

Eckles, Hon. James H., 

U. S. Treasurer 98 

Eckles, Winnie, married 

to Judge Landis 98 

English government pen- 
sioned Sacs 26 

Evidence, best 6 



Family history, Munson 6, 95 
Family history, Horn. 6,100 

Fire, a nrairie 11 

Flag of Truce 20, 79 

Flowers, many beauti- 
ful 12,27 



PAGE 

great growth of 31 

Forests, trees of 10 

Fort Defiance, rest at... 78 
Fort Winnebago, Port- 
age 78 

Fox Indians 13 

Fox river, description of 9 

G. 

Galena, meeting of peo- 
ple 54 

Game, abundance of 12 

Geology of country 10 

George, Henry, at work 

on dam 32 

shot by Indians 36 

Gratiot, Capt. Bion, and 

Indians 81 

wife of, cultured 89, 90 

Gratiot, Col. Henry, In- 
dians' friend 55 

address to Indians.... 84 

Gratiot's Grove, descrip- 
tion of 89 

H. 

Hair, ceremony of clip- 
ping 68, 70 

cutting locks from 

captives 68 

scalp, double meaning 
of 70 

Hall girls, as captives.. 

41-47, 59-65 

adopted by chiefs 61 

and neighbors'" horses. 39 
at Black Farth Creek 76, 77 
at Black Hawk s Grove 45 

at Blue Mounds 79-83 

at Cold Spring 61 

at Fort Defiance 88 

at Galena 93 

at Gratiot's Grove... 88-90 

at Horicon, Lake 66-67 

at Kishwaukee river. 42-44 

at Morrison's 84-88 

at Portage 70 

at St. Louis 93 

at White Oak Springs 90-92 

description of 7,8 

dresses given by 
squaws 62 



116 



INDEX 



PAGE 

food of captives 

43, 46, 62, 72, 76, 78 
guests of Gov. Clark.. 93 
Indians wanted as 

wives 23 

kept apart in traveling 61 
letter from Rev. Horn. 91 
painted by squaws.... 60 
popular appellation of. 6 

prayers of 39 

presents to .... 92, 102, 101 

purse collected for 94 

Rachel exhausted... 42,98 
religious offerings .... 46 
sleeping between 

squaws 46 

tiresome traveling. 42, 70, 78 

weeping of 39, 90 

wept parting squaws.. 79 
Hall, Edward, in militia 79 
Hall, Elizabeth, killed 

by Indians 23,35 

Hall, Greenbury, escape 

of 32,36 

Hall, John W., escape 

of 35, 36 

buries massacred 

whites 49 

meets sisters 91 

recruits squadron 48 

searches for sisters . . 49, 50 

statement of 102 

visits sisters in Ne- 
braska 102 

Hall, Reason, in Militia. 79 
Hall, Rachel, one of the 
"Hall girls", ages of 23, 98 

death of 98 

exhausted 42, 98 

family of 96, 98 

marriage of 95 

picture of 97 

state land gift 102 

tomb of 99 

wading Kishwaukee. . . 42 
Hall, Sylvia, one of the 
"Hall girls", ages 

of 23, 100 

death of 100 

fainted at sight of 

scalp 43 

family of 100 

marriage of 100 



PAGE 

pictures of 24, 101 

state land gift to 102 

Hall, William, sketch of 23 

family of 23 

hospitality, noted .... 24 

shot by Indians 35 

Hall, Mrs. Wm., massa- 
cred 34-35 

Harney, Gen., U. S. offi- 
cer 51 

Harrison, president 9 

Hearts, human on spears 60 
Henderson, Hon. John 

W., escape of 32, 35 

memorial oration of... 105 
Henderson, John H., set- 
tler 25 

Henderson, Gen. T. J., 

oration 105 

Home, longing for... 99,101 

Horicon Lake 63 

Horn, Mr. C. L„ grand- 
son of Elder 6 

Horn, Miss Sylvia E., 

grandchild of Elder. 6 
Horn, Thomas S., son of 

Elder 100 

Horn, Elder W. S., 

sketch of 99, 101 

marries Sylvia Hall . . 100 

picture of 101 

Horses stolen from set- 
tlers 39 

Howard, Allen, escape of 

32, 35 

I. 

Illinois river 4, 13 

Indian troubles 13 

bands attack settlers.. 21 

land claims 13 

marriage custom 23 

scare 31 

whipped by Davis 29 

Indians : Foxes, Sacs, etc. 13 
attack Davis cottage.. 33 
attempt to get girls. 69 
carry away Hall girls 39 
conspiracy suspected.. 81 
parting from Hall girls 88 
refusal to ratify treaty 16 
taken to Morrison's... 84 
trial of for murder... 112 
wrongs of 16 



INDEX 



117 



J. PAGE 

Jackson, President An- 
drew 9 

Jerome, Judge Edwin, 

guest of Halls 24 

Johnson, Gen. Albert 
Sydney 9 

Johnson, Col. B. M., and 
Shabona 108 

K. 

Kaskaskia, mission and 

capital 9 

Kishwaukee river 10 

Kishwaukee Trail 13 

I*. 

La Fayette, Gen., at Kas- 
kaskia 9 

Land, Indian claims to.. 13 
donated to Hall girls. 104 
Landis, Judge K. M., 
married Winnie Eck- 

les 98 

Lands, treaty as to 13 

Lincoln, Capt. Abraham. 44 

anecdote of 53 

President, at Kaskas- 
kia 9 

Little Priest, Indian 

chief 61 

as hostage 87 

M. 

Maple sugar, abundance. 

62, 64 

Marquette, Father 9 

Marriage and civilization 25 
Indian wife purchase.. 23 
Massacre, the Indian 

Creek 31 

Medary, George, Hotel of 84 
Michigan, excitement in. 54 
Mill, necessity in settle- 
ment 25 

Miller, important settler. 25 

Military movements 51 

Military Road, course of 

67, 78 

Militia, drunk 52 

Monument erected by 

Munson 4, 103, 104 



PAGE 

Monument erected by 
state 104 

Monuments on site of 
massacre 4, 103 

Munson, Rachel, three 

generations of 103 

burial place of 98 

given land 103 

Munson, William, sketch 

of 95 

family of 96, 97, 98 

picture of 96 

N. 

Neighbors, helping each 

other 25 

Norris, Robert, at work 

on dam 33 

shot by Indians 36 

O. 

Oconomowoc river 10 

lakes around 63 

Ox-teams for breaking- 
prairie 25 

P. 

Paw Paw, Shabona's vil- 
lage 108 

Pecatonica, battle of 92 

Pensions from England. 26 
Peru, home of Elder 

Horn 100 

Pettigrew, Wm., sketch 

of 24 

baby killed by Indian. 34 

killed by Indians 34 

Mrs., shot in cottage.. 34 
Picture of a prairie fire. 11 
Black Hawk as civilian 21 
Back Hawk as warrior 17 

Chief Shabona 30 

Monuments ... 4, 27, 99, 103 
Mrs. Dunavan, Mrs. 
Hum, Mrs. Watts, 
Howard Hum, Gla- 
dys Hum, Samuel 

Dunavan 103 

Mrs. Rachel Hall Mun- 
son and son Elliott. 97 



118 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Mrs. W. S. Horn and 

the Elder 101 

none of Misses Hall... 7 

Shabona Park 37 

where girls entered 

canoes 69 

William Munson. after 

middle life 96 

Wisconsin river 75 

tombs of Rachel and 

her husband 99 

Portage. where girls 

took canoes 69 

Pottawatomie Indians.. 

13. 16, 53 

Prairie breaking 25 

Purse for Hall girls 94 

Pursuit of Indians 44 

Pypagee, Shabona's son, 

friend of settlers. 22. 108 
Pyps, Shabona's nephew. 

friend of settlers . 22. 108 

Q. 

Quails, plentiful 12 

K. 

Rabbits, abundant 12 

Rachel's comb, taken by 

Indian 62 

Rachel ransomed 67 

Ransom from Sacs 66 

Ratification, refusal of 

Indians 16 

Red Bird war 17 

Red Flag promenade... 65 
Reed. John, m a r r i e s 

Phoebe Munson 98 

Reed. Fannie, married to 

Mr. Eckles 98 

Religion. Indian offering 46 
Religious ceremony. . . 65, 73 

Reward offered 54 

payment in goods 89 

Rivers, formation of 10 

Road, safest to Blue 

Mounds 68 

Rock river 9 

rapids passed by cap- 
tives 63 

Romance and history... 95 

Royally welcomed 79 



S. PAGE 

Sacs claim land 16 

follow girls to Portage 71 

danger expected 77 

Sauk Trail 26 

Scalp, double meaning of 70 

Scalping victims 34 

Scanlan, Miss Marian, 

contributor 7 

Scanlan. Miss Gertrude, 

contributor 7 

Scott, uncle of Hall girls 91 

Settlement, Davis 23 

Settlers attacked by In- 
dians 21 

rush to Ottawa 31 

return to Davis settle- 
ment 32; 

Shabona, sketch of 106 

all use of by squatters. 109 
cheated out of his 

lands 109 

Col. Johnson's gift 

ring to 108 

grave of 40 

home on Mazon creek. 110 

notifies whites 22. 31 

Park 27 

Paw Paw Village of.. 10S 

picture of 30 

removal to Kansas.... 108 
second notice to set- 
tlers 32 

tomb of 110 

Shaver, Delia, married to 

William Munson. Jr. 98 
Shaver. George, married 

Fidelia Munson 97 

Sod corn, first crop 25 

Somonauk, passing head- 
waters 40 

Spotted Arm, chief 57 

as hostage S7 

Springfield, state capital. 

1837 9 

Starved Rock State Park 9 
Stillman. Major, defeat 

of. "Stillman's Run" 20 
"Stillman's Run", rout 

at 20. 48. 51 . 52 

militia undisciplined 20. 51 
pursuing Indians... 20.51 

truce flag abused 20 

Stockades, building of.. 54 



INDEX 



PAGE 



Storms, rains 31 

St. Louis, girls ship for. 93 

Sycamore river 10 

Sycamore at rising of 

moon 41 

Sylvia Hall, one of the 

"Hall girls" 6 

first' ransomed 66 

T. 

Taylor Gen., report to 

Atkinson 51 

Tecumseh, Chief 22 

To-qua-mee, arrest for 

murder Ill 

acquitted of murder.. 112 
alleged confession of 

murder 113 

Indian marriage 23 

Torture, not women cap- 
tives 64 

Traditions proved 7 

Treaty of 1804 13 

Articles 13-16 

Turkeys on prairies 12 

Turnips, first crop 25 

Turtle Creek 10 

Turtle Village 55 



119 



V. PAGE 

Vance, Ed., lawyer in 

Dakota 98 

Vance, Dr. G., marries 

Irma Munson 97 

W. 

Walker, Sheriff, fearless 111 
Waterway, Green Bay to 

Prairie du Chien 13 

Watts, Mrs., picture of. 103 
Waubansee, friend of the 

whites 30 

Whirling Thunder, prom- 
ises assistance 57 

White CroAV, promises 

assistance 57 

character and appear- 
ance 66 

makes speech to girls. 87 
speech at Morrison |, s . . 57 
speaks English to cap- 
tives 74 

White Oak Springs, de- 
scription of 91,92 

Whiteside with Harney. 51 

finds white scalps 50 

Winnebago Indians 16 

"Winnebago', steamboat 

for St. Louis 93 

Wisconsin river scenery. 73 
Woods, description 26 



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